Whether it is low fuel prices or all of the exciting improvements that truck manufacturers have been making on their truck models, one thing is clear … businesses and individuals are buying pickup trucks at a fast rate, and it continues to rise each year.

The individual market is booming as well, with plenty for them to choose from and the American Big Three brands are leading the way.

John Schwegman, director of commercial products for General Motors Fleet says, “Sales have been really strong the last couple of years, really strong for commercial.

It’s due to the “strength of the market and performance of some of our great products, the launch of our full-size trucks.” He goes on to say, “The new mid-size pickups have been an absolute home run. We’ve been able to outpace the market and have been able to grow market share in commercial.”

Dave Sowers, head of marketing for Ram Truck states that economic prosperity is the underlying reason for the increase in sales.  He also credits Ram’s truck features as another reason for the steady rise in market share. “Although the phrase ‘right-sizing’ is used a lot in the fleet world, it could be modified as purchasing to capability.”   He says. “Many of our capabilities are allowing customers to do more with their trucks or to right-size their purchases and be more efficient in their work.”

Ford and its trailer assist.

A large percentage of Ram Heavy Duty pickups use diesel power because of the strength that the Cummins’ power-train offers.  Ram is the only truck maker to offer a diesel in the half-ton pickup size.

Ford’s spokesperson, Mike Levine, adds, “For pickups of all series, sales are going great.  It’s been the best since March 2007 and it’s up nine percent over last year.  How long it will last will depend on how much fuel prices would rise, but if you need a truck, you need a truck.”

The ‘new kid on the block’, Nissan’s Cummins-powered Titan XD pickup, is doing well and Phil Lienert, a spokesman of Nissan, weighs in, saying, “Nissan is slowly ramping up sales of Titan XD.

They are working on getting a better picture of the sort of customer that is buying the XD but so far what seems to be the norm is that they are predominantly male, and they are going for the higher trim levels.

The Titan XD has a 5/8-ton chassis which falls between the usual 1/2-ton and 3/4-ton models.  It also features a Cummins’ 5-liter ISV5.0 diesel V-8 that has been mated to an Aisin 6-speed automatic transmission.

The Ford Powerstroke, you either love it or hate it.

Another noteworthy feature of the Titan XD is that both of those components are built in Indiana and the truck itself is assembled in Mississippi which appeals to those customers wanting a true American-made vehicle.

Over at Ford, the single most popular Super Duty Model is the F-250 Crew Cab, two-thirds of which are diesel-powered.

About 90 percent of customers use their trucks for towing on a regular basis, marketers are estimating, which could be the reason for their popularity. In 2017, the gasoline engines on the F-250 and 350 are the 6.2-liter V-8s and will have a more capable TorqShift-G transmission.

All of the Ford trucks now have automatic transmissions due to the fact that there is no demand for a manual gearbox. Levine states “an automatic is more efficient than a manual.”

With today’s technology everything is going digital.

This ‘all-automatic’ trend is the rule for most of the competitors’ full-size pickup trucks as well, including General Motors.

Improvements continue to be made, fueling the desire customers have for purchasing a great pickup. Most pickup models have a multitude of high-tech options that range from complex infotainment systems to maintenance-management abilities that appeal to buyers. Other examples of these high-tech options include GM’s expansion of their long-running OnStar that now monitors engine functions and tire pressure.

Even the simple AM-FM-CD radio that Ram offers in its base model pickups, now include Bluetooth connectivity. Ford has their ProTrailer Back-up Assist option that is coming for the F-150. It claims that it will help drivers back a trailer like a pro, so if you have always had trouble backing a trailer up, soon you won’t.

With all of these exciting plans on the horizon, customers will continue to seek out a pickup over other choices and from the sound of it, there’s going to be a lot for them to be excited about.