how many 2 door pickups of any kind are sold each year?

[atx_ev]

I couldnt find any hard data, but AI seems to think 2 doors are around 2% of total pickup sales. That would be about 58 thousand (2.9 million pickups sold each year)

Now there is an SUV form factor, but then the pricing is starting to overlap with existing EVs like the chevy equinox which you can get for under 30 now with all incentives.

Im now skeptical that the 2 door pickup market is big enough alone and that they will rely on the SUV kit. However I think the pricing on it is going to have to be close to the pickup pricing to be enough under existing EV suvs.

Now it may be that dealers only carry 4 doors so that could be an issue.

 

[KevinRS]

The market is small because they aren't being produced. There are plenty of fleet cases for example that have gone to 4 door purely because of availability. I see work trucks on the freeway with ladders and stuff on the back, and a solo driver. If it's a newer truck, it's 4 doors.

 

[E90400K]

Both the full-size Chevrolet and Ford trucks have a single-cab/short bed configuration. The Tacoma and Frontier come with essentially single cabs (they are extended cabs with 2-rear coach doors and seats) and 6-foot beds.

The Ranger and Colorado only come in a 4-door crew cab/short-bed (5-foot) configuration. I'd say the market determines the architecture.

 

[sodamo]

I’d say locally, the market is heavily weighed to the dealer. Either accept what is on the lot, hope something inbound fits your wants, or special order and wait. A good friend has a Lightning on order, told 8 months. When were looked at Sequoias was told, most likely a year unless something came in and declined.
wanna guess how many 2 door, minimal accessory pickups are on the lots?

 

[ScooterAsheville]

You really want to ask, "how many truly appealing small trucks with two doors are being sold in the USA each year". The answer is none. Because nobody builds small trucks in the USA, let alone appealing small trucks.

But a good bit of information might be the two door Bronco. Everyone sneered at it, but the two door Bronco generates pretty decent sales (see AI search graphic at bottom)

I owned multiple two-door Rangers. It was a crude, basic, thirty-year old platform with zero meaningful updates. I would argue that nobody has sold an appealing small two door pickup truck in several decades. So I suggest that the Slate will be the first real test. The problem with the Slate is that it's not appealing for large numbers of people for any number of reason (they dislike BEVs, they want their amenities, and so on). So even the Slate won't fully test whether or not enough buyers want want a smaller two door pickup.

I argue there are more buyers out there than the product planners and media credit. But my opinion doesn't matter, because I'm not the CEO who has to pony up $1.5 billion to design, engineer, test, and manufacture a truly small two-door pickup. Happily, Slate stepped up to the plate for us. They're still not the mass-market test that would truly answer the question, but if they sell 100,000+, then we know all the market know-it-alls out there got it wrong (but maybe they actually got it right).

BTW, I'm not sure people really understand the automotive industry all that well. It's an industry that rewards production scale. To truly make money and amortize that $700,000,000 invested so far, Slate is going to have to build at scale, consistently, for many years. So seeing them move 100,000 trucks in the first year is nice - but doesn't answer the question of whether they'll survive as a franchise. Can they sell 100,000+ trucks EVERY year is the question. The standard of the industry is that a factory loses money until it reaches 80% capacity. After that it mints money. But it has to keep minting money, because it takes multiple years to amortize the capital investment.

 

[AZFox]

I’d say locally, the market is heavily weighed to the dealer.

I sometimes help friends buy cars (with great success so far). What I tell the friend ahead of time is "We're doing this once this year. They do this for a living, all year, for 40 hours a week."

 

[KevinRS]

OK, it looks like Ford does have 1 model of 2 door F-150, the local dealer has 3 total, and they start at over $40k. Sure they tow more than slate, but get only 19 mpg city even without towing.
Dealers probably only even stock them for when a business buyer insists on it. The 2 that come to just over 40k before taxes are bare no options models.

 

[atx_ev]

AI estimates that the 2 door bronco sells 15-38K/year. But it also costs about 39K

You can also look at 2 door coupes to see how many of those are sold.

One suggestion is that as 2 door cars have gotten much more expensive the demand has gone down. 2 door cars should make a car less expensive, but they arent, and that could be the problem.

 

[atreis]

I see a fair number of older small Nissan and old Chevy S-10 2 door trucks being driven by local contractors.

 

[Luxrage]

I see a fair number of older small Nissan and old Chevy S-10 2 door trucks being driven by local contractors.

Nissan Hardbody pickups around here will not die. I saw one with a massive wood stake bed on it just this week.

 

[Letas]

Chicken or the egg! Are they not produced because they don't sell, or they don't sell because they aren't produced...

 

[E90400K]

Chicken or the egg! Are they not produced because they don't sell, or they don't sell because they aren't produced...

It's an interesting paradigm. Back 25 years ago when the Lincoln LS sports sedan came out and available with a 5-speed manual transmission I wanted to buy one big time. However, no dealers stocked one on their lot to test drive with the manual transmission. I was told by every dealership that I'd have to order one was the only way I would be able to test drive it. And that took a non-refundable payment to order. Their excuse was no one really wants a Lincoln with a manual transmission. My response was, "how can a buyer make a decision to buy a car without driving it first?" Stupid.

When the Cadillac ATS with the manual came out 12 years ago, same deal, no dealers would stock them or rarely stock one. Again, stupid. The manufacturer builds a sports sedan with a manual transmission (to compete with BMW), but the dealerships don't give access to the car for the buyer to test drive it.

IMO, dealerships are the industry touchpoint that dictate the market availability of model diversification. They don't sell because the dealerships don't support diversification. If you are an enthusiast, it is not good for you.

Even BMW gave up on its core model, a rear-drive 3-series with a manual transmission. All that can be found on the dealership's lots are AWD automatics. Pitiful.

 

[hbuck]

I couldnt find any hard data, but AI seems to think 2 doors are around 2% of total pickup sales. That would be about 58 thousand (2.9 million pickups sold each year)

Now there is an SUV form factor, but then the pricing is starting to overlap with existing EVs like the chevy equinox which you can get for under 30 now with all incentives.

Im now skeptical that the 2 door pickup market is big enough alone and that they will rely on the SUV kit. However I think the pricing on it is going to have to be close to the pickup pricing to be enough under existing EV suvs.

Now it may be that dealers only carry 4 doors so that could be an issue.

I have a four door jeep. And when we four down the jeep behind our truck RV back seats sold down and we never hardly use the back doors. The two door Slate will fill a cheap no kid younger crowds, and old folks like me that use it for a dingy and dr visits, groceries etc. families with older kids Portillo not be the target segment of US consumers

 

[findude]

A major appeal of the Slate is that it's a small 2-door pickup - never mind that it's electric or modular. 4-door pickups are effectively lifted sedans without a trunk lid.

 

[Letas]

It's an interesting paradigm. Back 25 years ago when the Lincoln LS sports sedan came out and available with a 5-speed manual transmission I wanted to buy one big time. However, no dealers stocked one on their lot to test drive with the manual transmission. I was told by every dealership that I'd have to order one was the only way I would be able to test drive it. And that took a non-refundable payment to order. Their excuse was no one really wants a Lincoln with a manual transmission. My response was, "how can a buyer make a decision to buy a car without driving it first?" Stupid.

When the Cadillac ATS with the manual came out 12 years ago, same deal, no dealers would stock them or rarely stock one. Again, stupid. The manufacturer builds a sports sedan with a manual transmission (to compete with BMW), but the dealerships don't give access to the car for the buyer to test drive it.

IMO, dealerships are the industry touchpoint that dictate the market availability of model diversification. They don't sell because the dealerships don't support diversification. If you are an enthusiast, it is not good for you.

Even BMW gave up on its core model, a rear-drive 3-series with a manual transmission. All that can be found on the dealership's lots are AWD automatics. Pitiful.

It is an interesting paradigm. When I try to work it out in my head, I always land on the idea that "if there was a big enough market for it, someone would be selling them!".

It's not like its a new thing- manual cars, or 2 door pickups. They've existed for decades, but are going away. Surely if the market was as big as the internet claims, one company would capture it. They want to make money, right?