The world’s demand for cars will decrease by 3% this year in a phenomenon analysts are calling “peak car.” More than half of millennials say that owning a vehicle is not worth the expense or maintenance responsibilities.
While the overall demand for cars is slowly declining, the demand for pricey pickup trucks has only been increasing for the last decade.
Chevrolet is so confident of consumer demand for its trucks that the car maker is planning to unveil a $100,000 version of one of its trucks.
Although not publicly confirming its price, General Motors, the parent company of Chevrolet, previewed its new 2020 Chevy Silverado HD High Country truck at a press event in Bend, Oregon in June.
Buying the vehicle with the full “High Country” trim package pushes the sticker price over the $100,000 mark.
Sandor Piszar, Chevy truck marketing chief for GMC, says that the company is just offering consumers a luxury version of the traditional truck they’ve always loved.
“People want to trade up. If customers want a more expensive truck,” he said. “We’ll deliver it.”
Profit driver
It’s kind of mind-boggling, but there are at least 20 cities in the United States were $100,000 will buy you an entire house. While not a dramatically appreciating asset, housing does at least appreciate over time.
Not cars, and definitely not expensive pickup trucks.
The average cost of a full-sized pick-up truck was about $32,500 in 2010. That cost increased to $45,000 in 2019. With statistics like that, its no wonder why GMC is comfortable unveiling a $100,000 in slowly declining automobile market.
Increased profit potential is also on GMC’s side.
According to Piszar, the average Silverado profits the company about $10,000 in “variable gross profits.” At the high end, profits on “a Silverado High Country or a GMC Sierra Denali can get over $20,000.”
