News Still Grim for Midsize Pickups
By Bill Visnic August 27, 2010he future for the species known as the midsize pickup is getting darker with the news this week that the Volkswagen Group isn't interesting in entering the market and Ford Motor Co. seemingly is unmoved by recent overtures asking the company to reconsider the scheduled closure of its Ranger assembly plant in Minnesota.
Edmunds.com's Inside Line reported yesterday that VW officials closed the door on longstanding speculation the company was eying the U.S. market for introduction of the Amorak, a midsize pickup that essentially could be seen as VW's interpretation of the Ford Explorer Sport Trac. In Brazil, one of the prime markets for the Amorak, media relations manager Gilberto dos Santos told Inside Line, "Volkswagen is not planning currently to market the Amarok in the U.S.
"It is destined for South America, Europe, Russia, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand," The VW public-relations official continued. "Capacity of the General Pacheco manufacturing plant in Argentina is 100,000 units yearly, and the planned demand will be fully met. Other markets such as the U.S. and Asia are not in the company's plans."
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported this week that Ford still plans to close its Twin Cities assembly plant near St. Paul, MN, regardless of arm-twisting this week from the state's governor, Tim Pawlenty, and the promise of millions of dollars in tax breaks. The plant currently builds Ford's Ranger as its only product, it is in a now-inconvenient location and the plant's tooling is limited to construction of body-on-frame vehicles.
Ford president of the Americas Mark Fields was quoted by the AP as saying, "at this time, the Twin Cities Assembly Plant does not fit into our global manufacturing strategy."
Sales Continue Plunge
Sales and market share for midsize pickups are continuing on a years-long decline. The Ranger, once the segment's dominant player, sold 272,460 units in 2001. The number plunged to 55,600 last year - and still made the Ranger the segment's second-best seller behind Toyota Motor Corp.'s Tacoma.
Such is the case for General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. The Colorado plunged from a high of 128,359 sales in 2005 to just 32,413 last year. Year-to-date results are even more dismal, with Colorado sales thru July off 33.4 percent compared with 2009's weak performance; through July, Colorado total sales were just 13,856.
General Motors apparently does not intend to reverse its plan to close the Colorado/Canyon's Shreveport, LA, assembly plant by mid 2012, although rumors began afresh that the plant might win a reprieve after GM officials recently suggested the company needs to recommission an assembly plant to address a shortage of supply for some strong-selling models.
The Shreveport plant currently is working one ten-hour shift four days a week, building about 260 pickups per day, according to a recent story by The Times in Shreveport. Employment at the plant - that also once built the H3 model line from GM's discontinued Hummer - was 3,000 at its peak but now is less than 1,000. Continuing plant operations had been part of an aborted plan to sell the Hummer brand to a Chinese company.
Another blow to the segment's future prospects comes with word that India's Mahindra & Mahindra - which several times has delayed a plan to import to the U.S. a diesel-engine midsize pickup (as well as a similarly-sized SUV) - is attempting to sever its longstanding contract with independent U.S importer Global Vehicles U.S.A. Inc.
The move comes barely a week after the India-based company reported it finally had won Environmental Protection Agency certification for the diesel-powered models. The dispute could further delay introduction of the Mahindra & Mahindra pickups and fuels new speculaton about the Indian company's dedication to the segment in the face of strongly eroding market share.
1. Photo of Amorak pickup by Volkswagen of American Inc.
2. GM assembly worker Jimmy Patterson puts the finishing touches on a Chevy Colorado pickup. Patterson has been at the Shreveport plant since it opened in 1981. Photo by Bobby J. Clarke, The Times
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