Although few automakers might have believed the US compact pickup truck sector had any chance of revival not long ago, the truth is those who dared also reaped the benefits. Or at least some of them did, anyway.
When you think about America and its automotive pickup truck sector, it's easy to remember that Ford's record-breaking F-Series has command of the sales crown, followed by the relentless Chevy Silverado (plus GMC Sierra) and Ram pursuers. Few dare to question the king's throne, such as Toyota's Tundra or Nissan's Titan.
As far as the mid-size pickup truck sector is concerned, the situation is reversed – the Toyota Tacoma is the absolute best-seller, and the Nissan Frontier is not doing so badly either. However, the all-new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon had a thing or two to say about that during the third quarter of the year when Tacoma sales dipped below the usual threshold as everyone prepared for the arrival of the fresh N400 iteration.
Going further down the ladder into the compact pickup truck sector, the revival is in its infancy, and the only representatives are the Hyundai Santa Cruz plus the electrified Ford Maverick. As far as the latter is concerned, there is no doubt – it's a smashing success, and in Q3 this year, it outsold its lonely competitor by almost 15k units! Produced in Mexico, it is born on the same platform as the Ford Escape and Bronco Sport and currently starts from $23,400 for the 2024MY with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost, while the 2.5-liter Hybrid mill now commands a premium at $24,900.
Interestingly, there has been talk about potential new rivals ever since Hyundai and Ford kicked off deliveries of their Santa Cruz and Maverick adventurers. But for now, the pioneers are still left alone, as talk of Ram bringing their new Rampage to North America, Subaru reviving the BRAT or Baja nameplates, and Toyota bringing back the Stout or deriving the Corolla Cross into a unibody compact pickup truck have remained just whispers sent flying across the rumor mill.
Interestingly, everyone – including the imaginative realm of digital car content creators – has a vision about how all of them should act to try and conquer and divide the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz-occupied segment. Some think that Subaru could easily oppose both with a coupe utility revival, others believe that fortune favors the (Rampage) bold, and a few also dare to dream of Toyota's return to the compact pickup truck segment in North America.
For example, the virtual artist behind the CarsVision channel on YouTube has imagined how Japanese automaker Toyota could threaten Maverick's domination and envisioned a Stout revival that is the very definition of the word as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary: "strong of character/physically or materially strong/ sturdily constructed." So, what do you think? Could this ruggedly handsome small truck conquer the market if offered cheaply at around $25k?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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