Gladiator sales down 22% in 4Q, 29% overall in 2023

[RavensEyeOffroad]

The JT and JL have become way overpriced. Trade in values are horrible. Interest rates are insane.

this.

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[Badunit]

I would argue women in general counter that assumption. My wife and just about every women I have interacted with when purchasing a vehicle has put things like vehicle styling color and how "they" look driving it front and center before things like quality and dependability come into play.

I can safely say my wife is not like that, thank God. She is driving a 16 year old minivan that, while looking good for its age, is far from looking new and is far from stylish. She does not want a new vehicle. She looks at practicality, dependability, comfort, blind spots and ability to see out, the presence of "stupid" features that she knows won't work or last and will never be used, and so on. Price is not a barrier, she can get whatever she wants and she wants her old minivan. I am doing my best to keep it safe and reliable and well maintained so it will last as long as she continues to want it.

 

[aldo98229]

Market research (and the ads you see) back that up.

I do automotive market research for a living. I am telling you, the 3 key drivers of consumer demand are (1) reliability/durability, (2) safety and (3) value for money.

This is true in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and everywhere else we do work. This was true in 2008, in 2013 and in 2023.

Sure, there might be buyers that prioritize other things, but they are not in the majority. And even then, they would have to justify the three criteria above at some point before they make their purchase.

BTW, we don't just take consumers' stated priorities; we derive what is important to them through statistical key driver analyses. Often times, consumers are unaware of what truly drives them to make a purchase.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Service Department guy at my dealership told me 2024 may be the last year for Gladie's. He said jeep has always planed for the Gladiators to be limited sale vehicle. I cant find anything on the internet backing that up though. I am not sure how I feel about this if its true. Part of me will be sad but the other part of me is glad I bought a unique truck. We are going to be in the same boat as comanche and scrambler owners.

They are the first to know such things (he says sarcastically).
Really? Service department?
They've already all but said 2025 Gladiator will have a 4xe version. Why kill off something that's based on one of their more successful vehicles, especially when half of it is brought across from another model.

That's the last person I'd trust on "inside knowledge" when most don't even know there are certain TSBs out for some things.
You won't find anything on the internet to back it up- it's his speculation trying to sound knowledgeable, and even if it was somewhere on the internet - always consider the source.

Blame one person in charge of a certain company back then for things going on with Comanche. He had to kill it - it competed with his other trucks. He wanted just 2 or 3 things from that company, and he got them and trashed the rest.

 

[1996XJ]

I pay $1500 a month for my two Gladiators and will for 7 years. I love it. Two years on I still love my trucks.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

It's the quality and support Jeep provides. Social media is amplifying and getting the word out on both. Just look at any ad that Jeep posts on FB. For every 1 that says how much they enjoy their vehicle, 5 says otherwise. With the prices being where they are, people aren't willing to take a risk and be stuck with sub-par quality vehicle and even worse customer service from Jeep.

Do you think Jeep dealers are inherently worse than Ford or Chevy? I would think they are all pretty similar with some bad, some average, some good.

 

[Badunit]

I do automotive market research for a living. I am telling you, the 3 key drivers of consumer demand are (1) reliability/durability, (2) safety and (3) value for money.

Hmm. This might explain the sales numbers for the Gladiator. We here must be a non-typical bunch. When shopping for a small truck, I strongly considered the Tacoma for reliability and value (in fact, it was my original choice, I was sure that was what I wanted) but, for all its goodness, it was uninspiring and boring. The Jeep was fun and different and I felt I could handle most of the things that would be "unreliable" on a Jeep. I wish the ultra-steep discounts would have been around then, though.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I did see it mentioned a couple of times - STRIKE.
UAW (sorry, Dad!) is sucking the industry dry. It caused a ton of delays in orders and parts, among other things. Behind the scenes, auto industry people are saying this last strike will end up being the death knell for American auto makers.
Hey, these companies are rich! They are huge! They can afford it - take it.
That combined with certain mandates is forcing money to be spent on R&D that wasn't intended to be spent - at least not on R&D on that specific area. So much for model refreshes - no money left to make changes.

Is it any one factor? Just one? Or even just 2? Or was 2023 one of those years where things just kept piling on and piling on.

Oh, don't forget the stop sales orders on certain Jeep models? Naw, that can't have had any impact at all on sales. Not a chance, not even 0.0000000234543%

 

[bleda2002]

I do automotive market research for a living. I am telling you, the 3 key drivers of consumer demand are (1) reliability/durability, (2) safety and (3) value for money.

This is true in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and everywhere else we do work. This was true in 2008, in 2013 and in 2023.

Sure, there might be buyers that prioritize other things, but they are not in the majority. And even then, they would have to justify the three criteria above at some point before they make their purchase.

BTW, we don't just take consumers' stated priorities; we derive what is important to them through statistical key driver analyses. Often times, consumers are unaware of what truly drives them to make a purchase.

Is this at a model level or a brand level? There are certain brands, FORD, that I think are shitty in terms of reliability and build quality, FORD, that I wont even consider because of personal perception. Once a brand's reputation is good enough those arent even considerations for me really unless a certain model is a stand out or known crap box.

BTW, Did I mention how shitty the multiple fords I've owned have been?

 

[rezar1]

Do you think Jeep dealers are inherently worse than Ford or Chevy? I would think they are all pretty similar with some bad, some average, some good.

I wasn't referring to the dealerships. That's another topic on it's own. I think dealership experience is a hit and miss and I would never judge a car brand just purely based on the dealership experience.

I was referring to the issues I have had with my truck and direct service/support I have received from Jeep customer service.

 

[legacy_etu]

I would argue women in general counter that assumption. My wife and just about every women I have interacted with when purchasing a vehicle has put things like vehicle styling color and how "they" look driving it front and center before things like quality and dependability come into play.

Agreed. My wife refused to consider a minivan when our kids were little even though it would have been the best choice for our needs at the time. She specifically said, "she doesn't want to be seen driving a minivan". We wound up getting her a station wagon........er, I mean an SUV .

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This study is a bit old now - but still insist that reliability was tops?
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J.D. Power's latest Auto Avoider Study found styling – interior and exterior – were the top two factors that caused consumer to buy or avoid models.

Reliability finished third, with 55 per cent of new-vehicle buyers citing it (styling) as a leading reason, compared with 51 per cent in last year's report and 48 per cent in 2013. It was also a deal-breaker for 17 per cent of shoppers, compared with 14 per cent in the 2015 report.
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Another - not sure of the year -

Why people decide to avoid a particular car brand turns out to be more a matter of hearsay rather than fact-based analysis.

That’s the conclusion of automotive market research firm J.D. Power & Associates in a study of why people avoid purchasing certain models and brands in favor of others.

The top reason why someone picks one car or another is styling – about 35% of buyers choose not to purchase a vehicle in the segment they are shopping based on looks alone, J.D. Power reports. Purchase price is the next decider, but after that it becomes a free-for-all with people ruling out vehicles because of vague impressions about their reliability, fuel economy and other characteristics.

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https://kadence.com/en-us/understan...try-9-types-of-car-buyers-and-their-personas/

 

[Rob.G]

My vote is that interest rates and inflation are the main causes. Couple that with idiotic reviews from car reviewers that say stupid crap like the steering is numb and imprecise, it rides like a truck, whatever. Also consider that these car blogs are run by kids with no actual training in anything, unlike the car mags of the past... Car and Driver for example only hired writers with engineering backgrounds, and/or who also worked for the car companies. Meanwhile we have sites like Jalopnik and The Drive who just push a leftist agenda while masquerading as a car blog.

I got my 2023 Gladiator Willys a week and a half ago for $16k off MSRP. So a sticker of nearly $61k turned into a $44k purchase price. That made it very worthwhile for me.

I got mine because I wanted a truck... something smaller than my older dually RAM, but could still do a bit of towing and carry some cargo. And the fact that it has some offorad cred also helps. Honestly, for what I want to do, I would have been better off with a Colorado or Ranger. BUT... I just liked the Gladiator SO much more.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Couple that with idiotic reviews from car reviewers that say stupid crap like the steering is numb and imprecise, it rides like a truck,

Uh, it IS a truck?!?

That reviewer last week was likely driving a rack and pinion sporty station wagon that the industry still calls an SUV but is really a station wagon.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

No mystery here. Historically high interest rates coupled with insane price gouging. Unfortunately, for those folks who bought anything in the last year, they’re going to take a major haircut when they go to sell. I’ll be shocked if a lot of people aren’t going to be completely upside down on their loans when the prices and interest rates begin falling, if they’re not already. I’m glad I was able to stay in my credit bunker for the last 2 years. I was actually going to wait on buying in 21’ because I was changing jobs. I didn’t only because my employee discount source was talking about changing dealerships. Glad I bought when I did.

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