A week prior to ending the second quarter of 2024, CDK Global was hit with a massive cyberattack whose impact was felt by car dealerships nationwide. Said attack impaired a system used by almost 15,000 dealers in the United States, including Ford Motor Company. Even so, the second-largest automaker of the Detroit Big Three moved quite a few trucks in the past quarter. To keep this nice and simple, we’re going to focus on first-half volumes, namely deliveries from January 1st through June 30th.
As per the sales release from the Ford Motor Company, no fewer than 77,113 units of the Maverick were sold in the automaker's home market during the six-month period, representing an increase of 81.4% over H1 2023. If you insist, Q2 2024 deliveries totaled 38,052 compact pickups, which is 81.0% better than in Q2 2023.
This, in turn, puts the Maverick at the very top of the segment. Ford claims that Maverick Hybrid is the nation's best-selling hybrid truck. Through the first half of 2024, it sold 40,420 units compared to 33,674 for the F-150 PowerBoost. Circa 60% of Maverick Hybrid customers came from other brands, trading their old vehicles for the most fuel-efficient truck on sale right now.
Over at Hyundai, the Santa Cruz was a bit of a disappointment in the second quarter and first half, respectively, with volumes of 9,528 and 17,945 sales. In other words, Santa Cruz deliveries in the US contracted by -11% compared to Q2 2023 and -10% over H1 2023.
The system used by a plethora of Hyundai dealers was also impacted by the ransomware attack on CDK Global. Part of the reason why the South Korean automaker might be struggling with the Santa Cruz is the changeover to the 2025 model year, a facelift which – disappointingly – does not include a hybrid option. Considering that Santa Cruz features the N3 platform of the Tucson, it would have been pretty straightforward to give it a 1.6-liter turbo I4, a 64-horsepower electric motor, and a small battery for a combined 231 ponies and 258 pound-feet (350 Nm) of twist.
Photo: Ford
Missed opportunity? For certain, especially if you remember that Maverick Hybrid outsells Maverick EcoBoost. We couldn't leave it here, though. Remember the Honda Ridgeline? That's a Passport with a bed out back, making it a midsizer. The largest unibody truck on sale in this part of the world as of July 2024 moved 19,922 units through June 30th. It dropped -27.4% from the 27,430 units delivered in H1 2023, and that should really come as a surprise. Not one bit!
While it may come as standard with a punchy V6 engine and Intelligent Variable Torque Management all-wheel drive, $39,750 before taxes and options is a hard pill to swallow. Picture this: 2024 model year Chevrolet Colorado is a body-on-frame midsizer that starts at $29,500 sans destination fee. Not only does it better the Honda Ridgeline in max towing and payload capacities, but a four-wheel-drive LT will set you back $36,795 including the $1,595 destination.
Hyundai's online configurator lists the pre-facelift 2024 model year Santa Cruz with a starting price of $26,900 for the SE FWD, meaning 2.5-liter naturally aspirated I4 connected to a torque-converter automatic transmission. From the $38,460 Night grade up, the oily bits come in the form of a 2.5-liter turbo I4 (packing 281 ponies) and a dual-clutch box.
The Maverick? Ford wants either $23,920 for the 2.0-liter EcoBoost or $25,420 for the Atkinson-cycle hybrid setup with a continuously variable tranny instead of the four-cylinder turbo's eight-speed automatic. It's rated at 26 and 37 miles per gallon, respectively, meaning 9.0 and 6.4 liters per 100 kilometers. By comparison, the best the Santa Cruz and Ridgeline can do is 23 and 21 mpg (10.2 and 11.2 l/100 km), respectively.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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