VFACTS June 2023: Ram 1500 sets new record as US pick-up sales soar in Australia

Ram Trucks Australia has smashed its previous monthly sales record, delivering more than 1100 vehicles in June 2023 before the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra enter the local market.

The US pick-up sales battle has spilled onto Australian showroom floors with Ram Trucks delivering almost 1200 vehicles last month – shattering the previous record by more than 50 per cent.

The Ram Trucks Australia sales tally for June 2023 of 1172 vehicles includes a record 992 examples of the Ram 1500 pick-up, an increase of 29.1 per cent from the previous monthly record of 766 sales reported in May 2023.

While Ram clocks up two months in a row of record sales, arch rival Chevrolet – distributed in Australia by General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) – is selling at a fraction of the rate, with 429 examples of the Silverado pick-up sold last month.

Indeed, the total number of Ram pick-ups sold in June 2023 alone (1172) eclipses tally of Chevrolet Silverado 1500 vehicles reported as sold in Australia in the first six months of this year (1015).

The surge in sales of US pick-ups in Australia is likely to have Ford and Toyota salivating at the potential for their vehicles when they arrive in local showrooms.

The Ford F-150 is due in Australian showrooms in the next few months, while the Toyota Tundra is expected some time next year if a trial of the first 300 vehicles in customer hands proves successful.

As with the factory-backed Ram and Chevrolet pick-ups sold locally, the Ford and Toyota pick-ups will be imported from the US in left-hand-drive and remanufactured locally in right-hand-drive to factory quality and safety standards.

The Ram, Chevrolet and Toyota are engineered and remanufactured by the Walkinshaw Automotive Group – the former parent company of Holden Special Vehicles – on the south-eastern outskirts of Melbourne, while Ford has appointed Thailand firm RMA to oversee the conversion process locally at a facility on the northern outskirts of Melbourne.

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