Stop Shaming My V8: Why the ‘Dinosaur’ Trucks We Were Told to Kill Just Saved the American Auto Industry from an EV Disaster

GM’s and Ford’s yearly sales are both up six percent, based in large part, on the strong demand for gasoline-powered trucks. Sales for both are so good that the two companies are once again battling over which automaker has the best-selling trucks. Ford says “F-Series secured its 49th consecutive year as America’s best-selling truck, and 44 years as America’s best-selling vehicle with total sales of 828,832 trucks in 2025— an increase of 8.3%.” GM counters with strong sales of its full-size trucks. “GM is America’s full-size pickup leader for the 6th straight year, with the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra recording their best combined sales in 20 years. GM led the full-size SUV market for the 51st consecutive year.”

Technically, both statements are true. The discrepancy is tied to the names. The F-Series counts the Ford trucks that carry the F name, like F-150, F-250, etc. When you add them all up, Ford wins. However, if you add GM’s full-size truck sales together, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the GMC Sierra 1500 beat out the F-150. Either way you add them up, that’s a lot of trucks and the sales are keeping the Detroit Three going. 

Ram 1500 Sales Bounce Back

The re-introduction of the 2026 Ram 1500 HEMI helped the brand to its best fourth quarter since 2021. While the total of all the Stellantis American brands was down three percent for the year. Year-over-year retail sales improved across all the Ram nameplates with light duty trucks up an amazing 27%. Imagine how much the total sales would have fallen without the 1500, especially the HEMI. Ram announced the return of the 1500 SRT TRX on January 1st and is expecting the truck with the 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V-8 and the first Power Wagon with the 6.7-liter Cummins High-Output (HO) turbo diesel will continue to help strengthen sales. 

SUV Sales Also a Bright Spot

It appears the Detroit Three all have numbers to celebrate when it comes to SUVs. GM led the full-size SUV market for the 51st consecutive year. The sales for the Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon were the best since 2007. Ford says it has the best-selling three-row SUV, with the Ford Explorer. Plus, the Bronco posted a new annual sales record. Jeep credits its more realistic pricing for strong fourth quarter sales. Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, Gladiator and Wagoneer all had strong final quarters. 

ICE Trucks Still the Industry’s Strong Point

All of the Detroit Three are currently evaluating the future of the EV programs. The EV market saw a surge just before the federal tax rebates ran out but since then, sales have fallen by half. GM had the second most EV sales of any company, following Tesla. GM has slowed its EV truck production down to a trickle while Ford has halted production of the F-150 Lightning entirely. Ram is still proceeding with production of its long-range Ram 1500 REV hybrid, but timelines are fluid. In the meantime, gas-powered and hybrid trucks are keeping the American auto industry afloat while executives try to determine the safest path for the road ahead. 

The sales numbers don’t lie. Americans want gas-powered trucks and SUVs. 

Ford Photo

Mary Conway is a professional automotive journalist and has decades of experience specializing in automotive news analysis. She covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin.

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