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

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 number of Ram pick-ups sold in June 2023 (1172) eclipses tally of Chevrolet Silverado 1500 vehicles reported as sold in Australia so far 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.