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Ram 1500 officially virus proof as jumbo truck piles on sales - even as Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux plummet

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The Ram 1500 has defied the coronavirus downturn.
The Ram 1500 has defied the coronavirus downturn.

The Ram 1500 appears utterly virus proof, with the American jumbo truck defying the coronavirus downturn, even as its rivals shed sales in April.

The American truck brand, reengineered right here in Australia by Ateco, managed a total 178 sales in April (105 of the 1500 Express, and another 73 of the 1500 Laramie), compared to 156 in April of 2019. 

The jump was enough to push the brand's month-to-month total up by 14.1 per cent, and perhaps more importantly, push its year-to-date tally to 790, up a significant 27.2 per cent on the 621 vehicles it had sold to this point last year. 

Read More: New Ram 1500 2020 pricing and specs detailed: V8 tough truck costs thousands more

The result sits in stark contrast to the rest of the industry, including the dual-cab space. The Toyota HiLux, for example, dropped 50 per cent (4X2) and 30 per cent (4X4) in April, while the Ford Ranger fell 55.8 per cent (4X2) and 48.2 per cent (4X4). Its most obvious competitor, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, is yet to publicly announce its sales figures. 

Ask Ram, however, and they chalk it up to two simple factors: strong product, and the strength of its local manufacturing facility in Victoria.

"There's no doubt these are unprecedented times, which every industry is currently trying their best to navigate," a spokesperson told CarsGuide. "Our April result is testament to our customers recognising the strength of our product, and of our local manufacturing process in Australia."

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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