American brands are not interested in pickup trucks

General Motors previously sold luxury pickup trucks under its flagship Cadillac brand, but its global design boss said it has no plans to return to the segment.

“We will not build pickup trucks at Cadillac,” said Michael Simcoe, GM’s vice president of global design.

“It would have been a waste of participation, we would have spent that capital and that showroom location on something much more exciting and much more relevant to Cadillac.”

That’s even though GM has more than just two internal combustion engine-powered pickup truck platforms underpinning it Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon And Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra respectively – but as a new electric vehicle (EV) platform that underpins various pickup trucks.

These include the GMC Hummer EV and Sierra EV And Chevrolet Silverado EVwhile the foundation also underpins upcoming growth Cadillac Escalade iQ SUVs.

Cadillac has offered pickup trucks before, involving its largest SUV: the body-on-frame Escalade.

However, the Escalade EXT pickup – a more luxurious version of the Chevrolet Avalanche pickup – only existed for two generations and was discontinued in 2013.

While Chevrolet, Ford, GMC and Ram pickup trucks are reaching further into the luxury market with flashy, loaded models bearing badges like Limited and Denali, American luxury brands have struggled to sell pickup trucks in the past.

Based on Good car Bad carThe best year for Escalade EXT sales was its first year, 2003, when Cadillac sold 11,256 units. That puts it at about 18% of total Escalade sales.

Sales gradually declined before increasing again in 2007 with the launch of the new generation. Cadillac sold 7,967 units that year, or about 13 percent of Escalade sales, before sales once again continued to slide.

The Lincoln luxury brand’s first luxury pickup – the 2002 Blackwood, which came standard with a carpeted tub and unusual wood finish – was a complete flop despite the success of the related Navigator SUV. officials prompted Cadillac to introduce the first Escalade.

However, Lincoln has launched a replacement pickup truck based on the next generation of the Ford F-150 called the Mark LT, but it was discontinued after three years due to slow sales in the US and Canada.

However, its popularity in Mexico led Lincoln to introduce another generation specifically for that market.

It seems that while buyers want luxury trucks, they don’t want them from established luxury brands. That might also help explain the failure of Mercedes-Benz X-Class.

No country is more associated with pickup trucks than the US, and America’s Big 3 have been giants in this market for decades.

Stellantis sells pickup trucks under the Jeep and Ram brands; Ford under its eponymous brand; and GM under the Chevrolet and GMC brands.

That leaves Chrysler, Dodge, Buick, Cadillac and Lincoln without pickup trucks. Dodge offered them for decades before its Ram nameplate was spun off as a separate brand.