On pickups, Europeans say thanks, but no thanks

Nissan Motor Co. said last week it will withdraw its Navara pickup from European showrooms.

Renault and Mercedes-Benz dropped their own pickups in Europe last year after failing to generate meaningful sales there.

Mitsubishi, meanwhile, also could be dropping out of pickups.

Not so long ago, European pickups seemed like a good idea.

American consumers can't get enough of them, and they are popular across Mexico and South America, in Thailand, the Middle East and Africa. So why not Europe, too, automakers asked.

But Europeans have taken a pass.

The failure of the European pickup market to grow in numbers predicted just four years ago has caused once-bullish automakers to exit the segment, leaving Ford and Toyota as the only brands with decent sales.

Trying to convert Europeans to pickups was simply a mistake, says Felipe Munoz, global analyst for JATO Dynamics.

"Very few consider them as a car for driving for leisure," he said. And as far as the products' utility goes, "Europeans prefer the small, cheaper and more practical vans to transport their goods."

Pickups seemed poised to break out in Europe after strong growth started in 2015. But last year's total pickup sales came in at 116,280, just 6.8 percent of Europe's light-commercial-vehicle segment. That share was down from 7.9 percent in 2017, according to JATO data. Forecasts from past years had envisioned pickup sales topping 200,000 in 2018 — but they rose to only 165,785 that year.

The exit of competitors is good news for Ford, however, which led the European pickup market with the Ranger in the first quarter of 2020, according to JATO data. The Toyota Hilux was second.

Ford offers European customers single-cab, extended-cab and double-cab versions of the Ranger. It also has begun selling a chassis cab which can allow for a bespoke conversion rear body.

Ford's results reflect a genuine interest in what pickups can do.

In the first quarter, 89 percent of the European Rangers it sold were five-seat, four-door, double-cab models, and of the total, 78 percent were high-spec lifestyle variants, such as the Wildtrak and Raptor. All were four-wheel-drive models.

When it comes to European chic, there are a few surprising pickup results.

An imported Ram 1500 TRX with 711 hp from a 6.2-liter Dodge Hellcat engine retails in Europe for about $170,000. Ram sold 259 of the pickups in the first quarter. And Jeep's Gladiator pickup managed 282 sales in select European markets, retailing for just less than $85,000.

"You would be surprised at the money customers spend," Hans Schep, Ford's head of commercial vehicles in Europe, told Automotive News Europe. "Not just on the vehicle, but what they bolt on afterwards."

Ford will launch a new Ranger next year, and that could help another brand that also has been flailing in the segment: Volkswagen. The new Ranger has been developed alongside a new VW Amarok pickup as part of a wider alliance between the two companies.

VW ended production of the Amarok last year after a decade of sluggish sales.

Europe's new emissions rules aren't helping the pickups. The heavy body-on-frame construction increases CO2 output, which in turn pushes up the average emissions for automakers' light- commercial-vehicle ranges.

European Union rules require a cut of 15 percent in CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles by 2025 from 2019 levels, and a 31 percent reduction by 2030 compared with 2021 levels.

One obvious response to those requirements would be to turn to electrification. But automakers so far have been reluctant to increase the costs and complexity of what is still a relatively simple vehicle with low sales.

"In Europe the uptake of electrified pickup trucks remains very low — the lowest compared to any other body style," said David Leah, senior analyst for powertrain at LMC Automotive. "However, it is clear the overall trend in Europe is toward zero-emissions vehicles, and pickups will be no exception to this."

Segment leader Ford will address the CO2 issue by selling a plug-in version of the new Ranger sometime before 2025, Schep confirmed. He declined to specify what kind of a plug-in model the new Ranger would be, but LMC expects it to be a plug-in hybrid. Ford's plan suggests that Volkswagen's next Amarok also will be a plug-in.

Nissan's decision to pull its Navara from Europe is a significant development. It was the Navara that helped transform the European pickup market when it appeared there in 2005. Until then, pickups were viewed as a niche segment of work vehicles. After its introduction, consumers glimpsed the broader possibility of pickups as off-road, five-seat double-cab vehicles that could serve as family vehicles.

The pickups that previously sold in Europe had been mostly cramped, noisy and uncomfortable. Nissan increased passenger space and added upscale features, including satellite navigation, climate control and leather seats on top-end models. The truck was built on the same chassis as the Pathfinder SUV, which was also sold in Europe.

But last week, Nissan acknowledged that the region's pickup market is shrinking and said Navara sales will end next year.

"This reflects the declining pickup segment in Europe," Nissan said in a statement emailed to Automotive News Europe, "and the switch many consumers are taking from pickups to our range of modern and efficient vans."