Full-size pick-up demand soaring despite long waits and high prices

Aussies can’t seem to get enough American trucks – even before Ford and Toyota join the party

Demand for full-size US pick-up trucks continues to soar Down Under, where RAM Trucks Australia today celebrated the completion of its 20,000th remanufactured vehicle and is yet to fill 1800 outstanding orders.

About 1500 of them are for RAM 1500, 2500 and 3500 models, buyers of which face average wait times of three to six months (depending on the colour) for right-hand drive conversion and delivery.

Among them are 300 orders pending for the ballistic RAM TRX flagship, 172 examples of which have been delivered so far, leading RAM to secure extra supplies and resulting in customer wait times of more than 12 months, according to dealers.

RAM Trucks Australia remains cagey about TRX wait times, but some dealerships contacted by carsales said the current crop of TRXs had been accounted for and that new customer orders would not be filled until the first quarter of next year.

The local RAM milestone comes in the wake of

GMSV recently remanufacturing its 5000^th Chevrolet Silverado

and the October announcement of RAM’s production expansion plans and subsequent 12,000-unit per annum sales goal.

RAM pick-ups have been hot property in Australia ever since the American truck brand was officially launched here in mid-2018, when General Motors also got into the act with the Silverado – first via HSV and then GMSV from 2020 – and both American trucks are converted to RHD by Walkinshaw Group in Melbourne.

Ford has announced it will start converting and selling the F-150 here by mid-year and the Toyota Tundra is also set to officially join the local full-size pick-up market in 2024, pending the approval of yet another Walkinshaw development and remanufacturing operation that will see 300 prototypes built and tested around the country this year – the final seal of approval.

But for now it’s RAM that has the monopoly on what’s easily one of the fastest-growing segments in the Australian auto market, with the local division delivering 405 vehicles last month compared to GMSV’s 184 Silverado sales.

GMSV is yet to respond to carsales’ enquiries around order banks and wait times as the updated 2023 Silverado 1500 range approaches, but it has posted a vague message on its website about supply issues leading to extended waits.

“Like many, GMSV continue experiencing ongoing and often unpredictable COVID related challenges that keep disrupting the timely delivery of vehicles,” says the GMSV website.

“Specifically, vehicle delivery schedules have been impacted by ongoing production and supply-chain disruptions.

“This, combined with shipping and transport shortages and additional quarantine requirements, has contributed to delays across our product lines and specific order ETAs.

“We encourage you to continue working with your local GMSV Dealer who may provide updates as they become available, with the understanding that they are dealing with impacts beyond their control and in some cases may not have an update to provide.”

We did just that and were told that allocations for the new Silverado 1500 line-up were yet to be finalised, which makes providing an ETA something of a stab in the dark. But GMSV previously said the Walkinshaw remanufacturing team would be supplied with the model roughly around mid-year.

Despite RAM production running 24/7 at Walkinshaw, wait lists remain long and that has inevitably led to scalping and a surge of ‘used’ TRXs in particular flooding the classifieds with mark-ups of close to 43 per cent, as early buyers attempt to cash in on their $209,950 (MRLP) Hemi-powered unicorns.

Standard RAM 1500 customers are also trying to make a quick buck with mark-ups of around 20 per cent on higher-end variants; the top-spec Limited carries a dealer-quoted drive-way price of around $168,000 (compared to a $153,950 list price, plus on-road costs) in WA.

The MY23 Silverado range, meantime, will carry asking prices of between $121,000 and $124,000 plus on-road costs, translating to roughly $150-$160K drive-away depending on the variant.

For comparison’s sake, the cheapest DS-series RAM 1500 Express Quad Cab starts from $85,950 plus on-roads, but one dealer let slip this particular variant isn’t presently available, meaning buyers on a ‘budget’ will have to opt for the $98,950 Crew Cab.