Automakers Chart Ambitious Plans for the Future

Hyundai is moving forward on plans to increase US manufacturing capacity following a strong sales and earnings report. Meanwhile, Volkswagen recently announced a plan to dramatically cut its global models by 50 percent and eliminate 50,000 positions.

Let’s start with Hyundai. The Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis has seen its market share in the United States grow from 8.4 percent in 2020 to 11.2 percent through 2025. Overall sales grew 50 percent over that same period. These statistics are significant because no other automaker has come close to achieving similar results. Most automakers saw their sales and market share decrease or remain flat. One exception is Tesla, which grew 2.1 percent. 

In order to continue this growth, Hyundai is doubling down on committing to US production. The automaker wants to produce at least 80 percent of the vehicles it sells domestically here in the United States by the end of the decade. As of now, that percentage is around 40 percent. Greater US production will help mitigate the added cost of tariffs currently in place for major Hyundai exporting countries such as South Korea and Mexico.

Hyundai’s US performance has helped it become the second most profitable automaker and the third best selling automaker globally behind Toyota and Volkswagen. The comparison to Volkswagen is interesting because at the same time Hyundai’s confidence seems to be at an all-time high, Volkswagen just approved a new business plan that paints a less than optimistic view of the future.

In order to survive, Volkswagen has concluded that it needs to cut its model portfolio by about 50 percent and reduce build complexity by 75 percent. At the same time, the automaker plans to eliminate 50,000 jobs by the year 2030.

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume is frank in describing the causes of his company’s problems, namely the United States and China. "We are in the biggest transformation in the history of the global automotive industry. Everyone is affected: by US tariffs, by the collapse of the Chinese market and massive price erosion there, by geopolitical conflicts such as those in the Persian Gulf, by ever-harder competition in Europe and by sweeping regulation," he said.

China has become a major threat to the established automotive hegemony in recent years. I encourage anyone who wants to learn more about the rise of Chinese car companies to read this article published by Car and Driver. Basically, China has learned from Western automakers how to build advanced, high quality cars while keeping production costs down due to vertically integrated supply chains. As Chinese cars become more desirable, they’ve taken over their home market and are steadily conquering other markets throughout Europe and Asia.

The problems posed by the United States (i.e. tariffs, flip-flopping attitudes towards electric vehicles, and the deadlock with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz) are not exclusive to Volkswagen. But unlike Hyundai, Volkswagen has struggled for decades to gain traction in what remains the second largest market for new vehicles. Last year, Volkswagen ranked 14th in sales among all manufacturers with a US presence. It was outsold easily by Mazda; and Subaru sold more vehicles than Volkswagen and Audi combined. Offerings have been at times either too small, too expensive, or too unreliable. Volkswagen was also extremely late in entering the SUV market with competitive models. Finally there is the diesel emission scandal of 2015 which cost Volkswagen at least $33 billion in fines, penalties, and legal settlements in addition to the incalculable reputational damage.

All this does not mean Volkswagen is giving up on the US market. According to its strategic plan, “In North America, the Volkswagen Group will focus on the most profitable segments.” However, no mention is made regarding which segments those are and which vehicles may be discontinued.

Back in 2015, the late Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne argued that massive consolidation and cost savings were needed for the auto industry to survive in the 21st century. His warnings appear highly prophetic today in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing challenges posed by China and the United States. Amidst all this uncertainty, it’s anyone’s guess what the car world will look like in the near future, who will fall, and who will remain standing.     

Charting the Evolution of the Modern Pickup Truck

You can't travel anywhere nowadays with seeing dozens and dozens of pickup trucks on the road. After all, light duty, full-size pickup trucks consistently rank among the top selling vehicles in the United States year after year. Their sheer size also makes them hard to miss, with front ends that tower over the rooflines of typical sedans and lengths that can barely fit into parking spaces. Trucks have always been dependable tools for businesses and tradespeople, but the trucks of today serve other purposes, too. You're now just as likely to see Mom dropping kids off at school in a Ford F-150 as you are to see one carrying a foreman to a construction site. In the past 30 years, trucks have gone through the most dramatic change of any segment in the automotive industry. Today, I'm going to look at how we got here and point out significant milestones in the pickup truck's evolution from simple utility tool to luxury-grade family cruiser.

For most of the twentieth century, one-ton, full-size pickup trucks adhered to a relatively standard formula: single cab, two-door body and a large bed. Extended cabs first appeared in the 1970s and allowed a second row of seats of be installed behind the driver and front passenger, but front seat occupants had to exit first before rear seat riders could leave the vehicle. The reverse was true for getting back in. But starting in the late 1990s, something changed. Dodge was the first to offer four doors on a one-ton pickup in 1998. These doors were smaller than the front doors and rear hinged, and made it possible for rear passengers to enter and exit independently of front passengers. Ford and General Motors adopted similar door layouts with their trucks in 1999 and 2000 respectively. Then in 2001, Ford pioneered the use of four, full-size, forward hinged doors on its F-150. It took General Motors until 2004 to add a true crew cab configuration to its Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 lineups, and Dodge performed its own unique take on the concept with the Ram Mega Cab variant for 2006. The addition of four doors on pickup trucks meant that riders in both rows had the same levels of comfort that previously could only be enjoyed through buying a full-size SUV like a Chevrolet Tahoe or a Ford Expedition which shared platforms with their brand's respective trucks.

This magazine advertisement from 2002 shows the Ford F-150 in then-revolutionary crew cab configuration.

This commonality is important when we look at the next stage in pickup truck evolution, that being the 2002 Lincoln Blackwood. The first ever luxury pickup, the Blackwood was based on a Ford F-150 with styling shared with the Lincoln Navigator. Chief among the Blackwood's unique features was a fully carpeted bed with steel lining the side and an electronically operated cover. The interior also had only four seats, with the two rear occupants being treated to leather captain's chairs and a large center console between them. Unfortunately, the Blackwood was a commercial failure, only selling 3,383 units in a single model year. The bed, while luxurious, had a low payload capacity and was difficult to clean if filled with dirty items. The cover also restricted the size of what could be put in, something open-bed pickup trucks don't have to worry about. Despite being based on vehicles capable of being fitted with four-wheel drive, all Blackwoods were only offered in rear-wheel drive configuration. Finally, prospective customers balked at the asking price of $52,500 when a contemporary Navigator cost $44,000 and a crew cab F-150 topped out around $35,000.

The 2002 Lincoln Blackwood answered a luxury pickup truck question no one was asking (yet).

Even though the Blackwood experiment ended in failure, people demonstrated that they were willing to buy more expensive trucks if the capability and the luxury quotient were commensurate with the price. The same year the Blackwood was released, General Motors produced the Cadillac Escalade EXT. Along with the related Chevrolet Avalanche, the Escalade EXT featured four doors, seating for five, four-wheel drive, and a flexible bed for different cargo carrying needs. Meanwhile GMC launched the first Sierra Denali model as a more luxurious version of the Chevrolet Silverado. The Escalade EXT lasted two generations from 2002 to 2013 and sold over 70,000 units, while the Sierra Denali is still in production today.

This changing of consumer preferences began being reflected as each truck from each brand was redesigned for a new generation. Nowhere is that more evident than at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show with the unveilings of the fourth generation Dodge Ram and the twelfth generation Ford F-150. Both models featured new designs less workman like than their predecessors and meant to fit more seamlessly in urban environments. Among the Ford's upgrades were integrated side and tailgate steps to ease access to the bed, Sync hands-free interface, and a top-of-the-line Platinum trim level that featured an exclusive satin-chrome grille, 10-way powered captain's chairs, wood and aluminum interior trim, and 20-inch polished aluminum wheels. The Ram had some nifty features of its own including bed fender storage boxes and a class-first multi-link coil-spring rear suspension for a smoother ride. This generation Ram also ditched the Mega Cab in favor of a conventional crew cab configuration.

The 2009 F-150 and Ram 1500 truly marked the turning point for pickup trucks from work to lifestyle vehicles. General Motors would follow suit when the Silverado and Sierra received their next redesign in 2014. Even heavy duty trucks from each manufacturer started becoming more family friendly around this time. Crew cab body styles now dominate the market with two-door models either being eliminated entirely or restricted to bare bones base trim levels. Technology and feature content in trucks is equal to what is being offered in SUVs. Meanwhile transaction prices have soared with top spec trucks nudging $100,000.

The 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor gave truck buyers serious off-road upgrades straight from the factory.

Choosing between an SUV and a truck now comes down to whether you need a vehicle to tow and haul stuff. Trucks have always been used to haul toys, but what if trucks became toys themselves? That is what happened in 2010 when Ford unleashed the SVT Raptor on the world. A seven inch wider body to accommodate 35-inch-tall desert tires and extra wheel travel are among the most obvious changes from the normal F-150. The added height also makes it easier to see the new angled skid plate and triple-bypass Fox Racing shocks that keep the truck balanced on road and jumping over sand dunes. While the first Raptors were powered by a 5.4L V8 making 310 horsepower, later trucks got a 6.2L engine with 411 horsepower. The Raptor proved so popular, that a second generation was given the green light when the F-150 was next redesigned in 2015. Raptor fans were irritated by the switch from V8 power to a 3.5L twin-turbocharged V6, even though horsepower increased to 450. Ram Trucks, now separate from Dodge, joined the off road party in 2020 with the release of the TRX. Unlike the second-gen Raptor, the TRX has a V8 engine. But this one was supercharged to produce an astounding 702 horsepower.  

With over 700 horsepower, the Ram TRX is one of the most extreme trucks ever built.

And I haven't even mentioned electric trucks yet. The heavy nature of batteries make them well suited for application in truck bodies. And while electrification does add hundreds of pounds to a truck's weight, it also adds the horsepower to compensate. Quad motor versions of the Rivian R1T produce over 1000 horsepower and accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.0 seconds. Electric trucks serve as true do-it-all vehicles, effortlessly combining the straight line performance of exotic supercars with the functionality of their gas-powered counterparts. 

In response to ballooning prices, sizes, and weights of modern trucks, a new breed of smaller trucks have entered the market for buyers who yearn for these vehicles to return to their roots. Leading this revolution is the Ford Maverick, with an overall length up to 50 inches shorter than a F-150, 8-11 inches narrower, and 6-9 inches lower. It can be purchased for less than $30,000 and can be equipped with a hybrid powertrain that achieves up to 42 miles per gallon. Tidy dimensions and low operating costs have made the Maverick a success for Ford with over 155,000 units sold each of the last two years. Later in 2026, start-up brand Slate will sell its own two-door, two seat electric truck. The Slate will be offered without niceties such as power windows and an audio system, both of which and more can be optionally added back in. A bare bones Slate will retail for $24,950. Whether consumers will accept the sacrifices that come with that price and can live with its estimated 200 miles of range remain to be seen. 

Charting the evolution of pickup trucks is a fascinating look into changing consumer tastes over the years. In some ways, what's happened with trucks is a case of going forwards by going backwards. Many of the first SUVs evolved from trucks mainly by tossing a bench seat in the bed and extending the roof to cover it. Now, modern trucks are essentially SUVs with an open bed instead of a trunk. With trucks joining other vehicle segments making the transition to electric propulsion, there's no reason to suspect they will disappear anytime soon.