Gladiator Q4 2019 sales numbers out - thoughts?

[Klutch]

I think the only people that are buying Gladiators are people that want a Gladiator. Not people that just want a truck. I also know there are plenty of people buying gladiators that can't afford them, but it's the American way, right?

FWIW, I wanted a midsize truck which was a crew cab and 4x4. I chose the Gladiator because it's cool, it's unique and wanted to poke around on remote mountain roads. I like to think I can afford it, anyway.

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[TheSolarWizard]

If I was in charge of Jeep sales instead of my company, here’s what I would have done:

1) hardtop standard, with a DISCOUNT offered for opting soft top.Anyone actually looking for a truck, as a truck is likely expecting a ceiling.
2) rear doors the same or similar size as the front. People that tell me the gladiator is ugly often point there.
3) front grill different from JL. not those garbage angry grills but something to tell them apart.
4) to attack Tacoma more directly, include bedliner, rear locker only as an option and include safety tech.

as far as comparing the sales figures. How many Tacomas out of those were 4x4, crewcab?

 

[aj8544]

[QUOTE="as far as comparing the sales figures. How many Tacomas out of those were 4x4, crewcab?[/QUOTE]

Great question- hadnt thought about that before!

 

[BAT]

it's a funny thing as I had the Rivian R1T pre-ordered for months looking for an adventure vehicle that is a truck. My raptor was just too big to be useful on trails or overlanding. I use the truck bed to haul bikes, gear with tent and a Christmas tree once a year plus mulch occasionally. It's not a work truck it's a fun truck or lifestyle truck like somebody else said. The gladiator is perfect for that and a cheap one at that with it running on 87 octane and parts being so readily available. I do have a sense Jeep does not fully understand their audience for this truck yet as it's not my buddies who run traditional pickups. I also think if more people would actually get into one they'd sell even more to first time truck buyers.

Well getting into one to see is an issue in itself but that is created by the dealerships. I went to a couple of dealerships just to look and maybe take a test drive but I am still 2-3 months away from being able to hopefully purchase. I even informed them I was just wanting to look but the hassle I got and the full court pressure was such a pain in the ass I just walked back to my truck and said screw it.

 

[uplandgunner]

Well let's look at this from a business perspective. Mark Allen from the beginning has said that they wanted Gladiator to be in a class of its own. And that's what it is. Why compare it to the Tacoma, which is objectively the worst truck in the segment in every single category? Tacoma has the worst powertrain, drum brakes, plastic box, horrible interior space, 15 year old platform, outdated technology, low payload and towing numbers, and a history of horrible recalls and in the previous generation they were even buying back entire trucks. Why on earth would you use that truck as your benchmark?

The real problem is that people don't see the value in the Gladiator. They see the sticker price and run away. They don't take the time to dive into the fact that Gladiator has the largest brakes in the class, the strongest frame in the class, the most 2nd row legroom in the class, the highest gasoline towing capacity in the class, the most offroad capability you can get, the only truck in the country with a convertible top and removable doors, the only truck in the segment with a ZF-based world class transmission, the only truck in the segment that has an engine that has been on Ward's 10 Best Engines list in multiple years, etc. etc. etc. You get SO much more with Gladiator than you do with any other midsize truck you can buy. But..... none of that matters because shoppers see the sticker price and run.

Which brings me to my next point. FCA screwed this up because they should have put entry level Sports on the lots FIRST. Get a thick shipment of $35-40k models on the lots across the nation first. THEN start weaning in your higher priced trims. Instead, what they did was the opposite. Every dealership in America is stacked up with $55-63k trucks and so the average consumer now believes that this is a $60k truck. It was horrible marketing on FCA's part.

At the end of the day, it's a sad story because Gladiator is so misunderstood. This truck has payload and towing numbers that rival full size trucks, combined with more off-road prowess and more fun factor and a LOT more resale value.

I don't know about that. I test drove a Sport S and an Overland before a Rubicon just to give those two models a chance but really from the beginning I was pretty much set on a Rubicon. Now this was mid May and they were just showing up on lots. I think they hit a homerun on the Rubicon and think this will be their best seller.

I don't believe they ever projected the same sales as the JL's but knew what they expected from the market.

My stand point is the Rubicon was comparable to what it would cost to build a Sport to the same level but the exception being the interior at Rubicon level was heads and tails above the Sport and Overland models.

The JT is an always will be a niche truck with a sizable following who want what it has to offer to make it profitable for FCA but will not beat sales levels to out do other mid size trucks.

On the other hand those other mid size trucks will not really hold a candle to the capabilities of a JT.

 

[futzin']

The fact that Ford has already stated interest in a Bronco (which isn't even out yet, and could flop) pickup to compete with the JT tells me there is serious profit margin in these . . .

 

[BAT]

You mean it's not sheets of plywood? Seriously, most buyers of the Gladiator will not be traditional truck buyers. Heck, I'm not even sure that most buyers of pickups are traditional buyers. It seems to me that they're more interested in posing around town in their well-manicured, lifted-to-the-sky pickups than hauling a load of cattle to market.

Please, I don't want to see Gladiators abused like this ...

Man I see that all over the roads here in Katy and Surrounding Houston. I think you all call them Mall Crawlers cause they will never see a day of work or mud, etc. Just pimping in a sky high gas guzzler.

 

[rafaelsmith]

These things are just not selling in my area. I test drove a Gator Sport S almost 2 months ago at a dealership on Long Island and it's still for sale. In July I get drove a Firecracker Red Ruby at Westbury Jeep and its still for sale. It has over 250 miles on it from test drives and the dealership just moved it to their used inventory.

Plus the incentives are, lets be honest, shit. They should have pushed at least $3,000 during the employee pricing discount, instead most dealers were doing $500 off. Its pathetic honestly

Since April/May i have literally seen a total of four in the Central Florida area and I do alot of traveling from one end to the other. I am pretty sure two of those sightings were the same one. By contrast....during first 5 months of JL...I probably saw one or two everywhere I went.

That said....i expect when I get mine...they will be everywhere and the same color =P

 

[BAT]

When the previous CEO of FCA, Sergio Marchionne, green lighted the project he said specifically that he was going to deliberately price the truck much higher than the competition because the new truck would have capabilities that no other manufacturer offered and he was/is right.

He also went on to say that their target sales figure was about 75K per year. Given the late roll out and the lack of real advertising I would say they are well on their way to meeting that figure.

Going back to the comment that Toyota sold X many Taco’s I would argue that it’s not about the number of units sold but rather the profit per vehicle that really matters. As an example, a few years ago Porsche was the most profitable car company in the world and it certainly wasn’t because they sold more cars than only one else but rather had the highest margin per car in the universe...

That's understandable and works I think for the initial sales and surge. But I wonder now that the initial buyers are in on them where do you get the next buyers the one's who don't care about special capabilities, etc and price drives their purchase. I don't think you would see a glut of sales for the JT but think with bit more shrewed marketing and builds with bit better pricing they could have sold a lot more trucks. What the CEO wants and what the dealerships want is two different things and the dealerships want to sell or at least that is what I have been told by some friends who have been in the business. Its the same in my company what our CEO wants and what the offices that handle the product and the customers who buy our product is way different. While the company is still going we have seen many CEO's come and go for bad decisions. Out last one cost the company almost a $1 Billion Dollar write off along with a lot of people losing their jobs and losing almost 50% of our customers all for his foolishness of what he thought the market should do. He was going to revolutionize the industry. He was quietly removed along with some others given his golden parachute.

 

[Rickv100De]

Does FCA report Q4 production figures? or is that an annual report only item? I would like to see number produced versus number sold.

Rick

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The fact that Ford has already stated interest in a Bronco (which isn't even out yet, and could flop) pickup to compete with the JT tells me there is serious profit margin in these . . .

Interest? More than that, scuttle is that it will have a removable roof according to an auto site I was looking at telling of "models to watch out for in 2020" Apparently patents have been filed among other things and the Bronco is very likely to be aimed straight at us.

 

[Klutch]

Interest? More than that, scuttle is that it will have a removable roof according to an auto site I was looking at telling of "models to watch out for in 2020" Apparently patents have been filed among other things and the Bronco is very likely to be aimed straight at us.

Well, I was pretty excited about the new Ranger, but when I (yawn...) saw it my (yawn...) reaction was... Was... Zzzzzzzzzzzz…

So I'm wondering if it will be the same for the new Bronco; so much potential just not realized. I'm envisioning a 2-door Ranger with a removable cap.

 

[futzin']

Interest? More than that, scuttle is that it will have a removable roof according to an auto site I was looking at telling of "models to watch out for in 2020" Apparently patents have been filed among other things and the Bronco is very likely to be aimed straight at us.

I'm referring to a Bronco truck, not the Bronco. Ford is talking about a truck version when the Bronco has yet to be released. Seems odd to me. Of course, talk is cheap . . .

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Well, I was pretty excited about the new Ranger, but when I (yawn...) saw it my (yawn...) reaction was... Was... Zzzzzzzzzzzz…

So I'm wondering if it will be the same for the new Bronco; so much potential just not realized. I'm envisioning a 2-door Ranger with a removable cap.

You can wake up now....... LOL

 

[futzin']

Ford Ranger . . . James Bond said it best . . . Phoo Yuk! dating myself with that reference.

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