Ram pickup beats Silverado as Stellantis U.S. sales drop 2% in 2021

The Ram pickup truck surpassed sales of the Chevrolet Silverado in 2021 for the second time, despite parent Stellantis NV's sales declining 2% for the year from 2020.

Ram sold 569,388 pickups, up 1%, in 2021. Chevy sold 529,765 Silverado trucks, down almost 11%.  General Motors Co., however, still sold more trucks than Ram with an additional 248,924 GMC Sierras, down 1.6%.

Ram last surpassed the Silverado in 2019 as GM was ramping up production of a new generation of the Chevy pickup. Last year, a global microchip shortage hit the industry, idling assembly plants and forcing automakers like GM to produce and then hold trucks as they waited for the scarce parts.

Stellantis finished the year selling almost 1.8 million vehicles with nearly 412,000 of the transactions occurring in the fourth quarter, an 18% decrease year-over-year.

"2021 had unique challenges driven by the various supply chain issues, but our dealers didn’t let that slow them down, and we're proud of their sales performance," Jeff Kommor, Stellantis' U.S. head of sales, said in a statement. "As we head into the new year, demand for our vehicles continues to be strong and our inventory is improving. We anticipate a continuation of the robust demand and sales volumes into 2022 with our existing and new products."

Overall, the results put Stellantis behind GM, which sold 2.2 million vehicles in 2021, down 13% from 2020. Ford Motor Co. will report its fourth-quarter and full-year sales on Wednesday. The Blue Oval had sold 1.7 million vehicles in the U.S. through November.

Stellantis highlighted that retail sales, which it prioritized over fleet, were flat for the year. Fleet sales dropped 13%, though 2021 was a record year in commercial sales across the portfolio, up 35% year-over-year.

Ram and Chrysler both increased sales in 2021 by 4% each. Jeep and Alfa Romeo dropped 2%, Dodge was down 19% after discontinuing the Grand Caravan and Journey, and Fiat fell 45%. Every brand was down by a double-digit percentage in the fourth quarter except for Chrysler, whose sales rose 18% year-over-year.

bnoble@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @BreanaCNoble