Q3 2024 Sales Report: Toyota Tacoma Sales Dip 8.7 Percent From Q3 2023

The Japanese automaker didn't explain whether the root cause behind this drop is a supply chain/production hurdle or the 2024 model's higher price than the 2023 model. In any case, Toyota produces the only mid-size truck with an available hybrid powertrain.

Ford's Ranger PHEV is not available stateside, and the Ford Motor Company doesn't intend to add this version to the US lineup anytime soon. Before talking about Ranger sales, we first have to glance over GM's Chevrolet and GMC divisions. The Colorado and mechanically similar Canyon racked up 28,887 and 10,121 deliveries, representing 13.2 and 32.7 percent better volumes than in the third quarter of 2023.

That's 39,008 combined sales for the largest automaker of the Detroit Big Three, with Ranger clocking 15,504 deliveries compared to 7,385 in the third quarter of 2023. It's very good news that Ranger sales improved 109.9 percent, but looking at the bigger picture, that's not good enough to challenge the Chevrolet Colorado or the Toyota Tacoma.

Nissan's V6-only Frontier finished the quarter just behind the Ranger, with Nissan reporting 14,294 deliveries compared to 11,756 from July through September 2023. Believe it or not, Honda's unibody Ridgeline sold better than the body-on-frame Jeep Gladiator in Q3 2024, with the Pilot-based truck moving 13,112 units compared to 9,192 for the off-road truck from the Jeep brand.

Compared to their Q3 2023 volumes, the Ridgeline is up 8.0 percent compared to minus 35 percent for the Gladiator. All in all, the United States of America's mid-size truck segment is up 5 percent from the third quarter of last year. The biggest loser is – without a shadow of a doubt – the Jeep Gladiator.

Part of the reason for this downfall is the $37,895 starting price, which Stellantis – or better said FCA US LLC – has recently slashed to $34,106 for the 2024 model year Gladiator Sport. Curiously, there's no such offer in store for the 2025 model year, with the Gladiator Sport retailing at $38,695.

We also have to remember that Stellantis alienated a small number of prospective customers with the 2025 update, which saw the discontinuation of the Aisin-supplied manual transmission. That's not all, though, because Jeep has yet to unleash the promised Gladiator 4xe. While it's not clear if the plug-in hybrid will drop as a 2025 model, we do know that it's heading to dealers nationwide sometime next year.

Now that the Gladiator is no longer available with a manual, the only new truck in the United States of America that you can option with this kind of transmission is the Tacoma. The iMT2 rev-matching and anti-stall tranny is available on the SR, TRD Sport, and TRD Off-Road grades with the Double Cab, 5-foot bed, and four-wheel drive. When equipped with said manual, the Tacoma develops 270 horses and 310 pound-feet (420 Nm) as opposed to either 228 hp and 243 (330 Nm) or 278 and 317 (430 Nm) with the auto.