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Tacoma is top-selling mid-size pickup for 2015 by huge margin.
John Goreham's picture
By John Goreham Jan 5 2016 - 2:54pm

Toyota Tacoma outsells all rivals combined heading into 2016

2015 Was a banner year of sales for the Toyota Tacoma. The reasons Tacoma won the sales race are not what you may think..
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2016 Tacoma Rear
2016 Tacoma Front
Toyota Tacoma 2016

The 2015 sales totals are in, and the Toyota Tacoma’s 179,561 units sold is larger than the combined sales of the Chevy Colorado, GMC Colorado, and Nissan Frontier, which added together equal 177,325 units. Therefore, the Toyota Tacoma not only has the most market share in the hot mid-size pickup segment, it holds the majority of sales in the category with more than a 50% share.

There are two main reasons the Toyota Tacoma enjoys this lead in sales. First, Toyota did a better job of predicting the mid-size truck market expansion and then took decisive action. As Torque News was one of the first to report, Toyota added truck manufacturing capacity ahead of demand. In fact, Toyota was so confident in its abilities, the company moved to increase capacity by hiring more workers and shifting production to the Tacoma knowing that the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado were about to be launched. Imagine being so bold that you suggest to your manager that the company invest heavily in more production knowing that a huge rival was about to release a direct competitor.

The second thing Toyota did to ensure the Tacoma’s sales dominance was it messed with success. Frankly, Toyota had to. The new GM truck twins are not posers. They are excellent trucks that their owners love. To stay in the game Toyota had to update. However, Tacoma fans are split. Some want modern designs with an emphasis on fuel economy; others wanted a traditional Tacoma with ultra-reliability. In the end, Toyota compromised, and the 2016 Tacoma is a bit of both. The 2016 Tacoma now outsells the 2015 model by a wide margin. Those that don’t like the truck are in the minority.

You will notice we never said the Tacoma is a better truck than the Colorado or Canyon. That is a matter of opinion. Like many segments, the leaders in the mid-size truck segment are all great, and each has its own distinct personality. So why did GM sell less trucks than Toyota? One big reason is the company sold all it could produce. Here, Toyota outmaneuvered GM. See the second paragraph for emphasis.

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Comments

Wallace wrote on January 5, 2016 - 9:38pm
Yep. All about capacity an hiring more Mexicans in Baja. Americans will take an inferior Tacoma if they discount enough.
Alez wrote on January 6, 2016 - 12:56am
Gm sucks plain and simple.
Volunteer wrote on January 6, 2016 - 9:45am
Would take a Toyota over a GM product everyday of the week. Much more reliable product and the resale on the investment there is no comparison. People still buy those old Toyota trucks for what they cost new in the 80's and 90's.
mykaelp wrote on January 6, 2016 - 10:18am
Toyota? Discounting their products? About the dumbest comment I've read in a long while. You're as clueless as you are racist.
Wallace wrote on January 6, 2016 - 1:22pm
Discounting? Absolutely, they had to when they cheaped out on the update that they call "New". Same wheezy 4cyl. from 20yrs ago that has neither power or fuel economy. A V6 with less torque than last year. (to replace previous 4.0 V6 because customers are complaining about piston slap). The crappiest Hyundai has rear disk brakes, still not available on the Tacoma in 2016. Toyota will retain a small base of kids interested in approach angles and jacking their trucks up for the 2% of off roading they do. Some like innovations like "Crawl Control", that according to Toyota's video helps you to back up when you get stuck on a hill. GM will continue to gain market share with those that are looking for a truck that works well on road and can tow. What's racist about this post? I love Mexicans and Mexican food.
mykaelp wrote on January 6, 2016 - 7:11pm
You know nothing about Toyota's, obviously. I can assure you Toyota is selling every Tacoma it can manufacture, without discounting. There is a substantial waiting list for certain trims in my town, and within ~50 miles from my house. GM? Yeah, not so much. One ft lb torque less, some 40 hp more. About ~50% of Tacoma's are taken off road regularly. Your 2 percent you spout off about is a number your are clearly making up. Why don't you watch the video again regarding crawl control. Stuck on a hill? What are you babbling about? Same technology in the Land Cruiser and Land Rover, and I'm fairly certain those vehicles are highly capable off road vehicles. Nice cherry picking to prove whatever ridiculous point you're attempting to make. Become educated please. Besides, the market has already spoken, and Toyota is stomping GM in sales. You're in the minority in liking the crap GM is putting out. We'll see what vehicle is still running 20 years from now. And as usual, GM reliability is garbage for the Canyon/Colorado twins. Read some Consumer Reports.
Marc wrote on January 6, 2016 - 11:46am
Wallace: I hope you don't drive a GM, Chrysler or Ford product, since they have parts from all over the world. Transmissions from Brazil, Germany and Japan, wiring harnesses from Mexico and Canada, tires from Mexico, Korea and China. Final assembly plants for those "American" brands in Mexico and Canada.
Harley Earl wrote on January 14, 2016 - 7:03pm
and BMW contracted G.M. Hydramatic to supply automatic transmissions for their 3 & 5 series. The truth is. and I learned this the hard way. is that initial production values for Japanese products are junk. It takes them much longer to identify and fix product problems, eventually they do. The Japanese Gov't protects Japanese keiretsu and shields them from product flaws, witness the suppression of the facts regarding Lexus unintended acceleration. I did have an early Toyota pickup truck, the product quality was poor and the floor rusted out. My GMC Jimmy 5 Speed Coupe with off road package has been flawless. Until recently you could offer a Japanese consumer a CTS V Coupe or BMW M5 for the price of a Dahastsu Rocky and they would still buy the domestic product, it was considered poor judgement and a loss of face to purchase an import. Now times are changing with Cheverolet earning cult car status amoung Japanese youth. G,M, is doing a robust business selling crate small blocks to conversion shops in Japan, Installing LS1s in Supras, RX8s and 270Zs is now big business. Small Block Rock in the Shinjuku, Oh What a Feeling.
Charles Lynch wrote on January 7, 2016 - 5:15am
It is crazy how much value the Tacoma retains over the years! People love them and continue to buy for a reason! What other manufacturers would buy back a truck that has a rusted unsafe frame? And give you 150% of retail. None, absolutely none! Be smart and get in on the action..,
john907442001 wrote on January 7, 2016 - 12:00pm
My daughter is happy with her 2016 GMC Canyon SLT 3.6L V6 4WD Crew Cab, does all that she needs and more, we did go and look at the Toyota and the Colorado. Her decision to go with the GMC, came down to the Fit & Finish, interior anemities, Engine Power and Style to her the GMC just looked better
mykaelp wrote on January 7, 2016 - 1:08pm
Hope she purchased the extended warranty. She'll need it.
Wallace wrote on January 7, 2016 - 1:52pm
John, Nice,at least she won't have to worry about frame rust. GM quality now good. Some just like to live in the past.
mykaelp wrote on January 7, 2016 - 3:28pm
The past? Like last week? Canyon/Colorado twins are doing horribly in the reliability arena. Don't believe me? Do the research. It is far from difficult, for most people. Go ahead, educate yourself. Look up the massive list of problem areas for the newest GM garbage on their brand new and "improved" trucks, while their executives drone on how this time they finally built something worth buying and things are somehow different, only to once again build something that disentigrates in years. Oops. How many Toyota Tacoma's you see running around? Old and new? Chevy S10's or Colorado's? Yeah. I'd say it's probably something like 30:1. What trucks are waging war in every dung hole corner on the planet and beat to death every day yet still keep going? Toyota. Some people just like to spout nonsense and live in a fantasy world.
Harley Earl wrote on January 14, 2016 - 6:44pm
Cheverolet has long been the cult car of Japanese youth. They crave Americana, and, while most U.S. Auto Publications find fault with American products promoting the quality of asian automobiles, the fact is Japanese youth. the toughest customers in the world, prefer American products, specifically Cheverolet. Now Japanese youth finally have a "world size" truck to purchase from the Bow Tie folks. Interestingly Toyota does lead the automobile world in recalls with questionable quality controls and financial stress felt by the members or its Mitsui Keiretsu. Also keep in mind there is no distinction between Gov't and private enterprise in Japan, Toyota's wholly owned U.S. subsidiary sweeps profits to Toyota Japan and the Japanese Gov't. G.M. has a brisk and growing business selling small block crate motors to Japanese auto conversion shops in the Shinjuku with LS1 Supras, RX8s, and 270Zs tearing up the streets. Ironically, it will be Japanese youth interest in the new G.M. World Trucks who will determine their success in Asia. LS1s in Tokyo, oh what a feeling. .
rich damato wrote on February 2, 2016 - 7:17pm
I think that after the MT Truck of the Year award, Chevy dealers got greedy with pricing. They had a reasonably hot commodity and thought they could get away with more than the market would bear. I see Colorado Z-71s on Ebay for $45k-plus. And these are gas trucks. This would put Duramax trucks into the low 50's with markups which I think is way too much money for this truck. The previous gen Colorados were awful vehicles. The new ones are in uncharted territiory in terms of resale. I think Toyota outmaneuvered Chevy and have Tacoma's histioy and reliability working to their clear advantage.In addition, they thought the diesel would be so hot, they offered it only in high end trims and configurations. That is a mistake, in my opinion. All in all, Chevy drove me right into Toyota's waiting arms. I had never even considered the Tacoma before. Now I'm not usre if I would even reconsider the Colorado or Canyon.