Pickup truck

A pickup truck or pickup is a light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering).^[1] In Australia and New Zealand, both pickups and coupé utilities are called utes, short for utility vehicle. In South Africa, people of all language groups use the term bakkie; a diminutive of Afrikaans: bak, meaning bowl or container.^[2]

Once a work or farming tool with few creature comforts, in the 1950s, US consumers began purchasing pickups for lifestyle reasons, and by the 1990s, less than 15 percent of owners reported use in work as the pickup truck's primary purpose.^[3] In North America, the pickup is mostly used as a passenger car^[4] and accounts for about 18% of total vehicles sold in the United States.^[5] Full-sized pickups and SUVs are an important source of revenue for major car manufacturers such as Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, accounting for more than two-thirds of their global pre-tax earnings, though they make up just 16% of North American vehicle production. These vehicles have a high profit margin and a high price tag; in 2018, Kelley Blue Book cited an average cost (including optional features) of US$47,174 for a new Ford F-150.^[6]

The term pickup is of unknown origin. It was used by Studebaker in 1913. By the 1930s, "pick-up" (hyphenated) had become the standard term.^[7]

International markets[edit]

While the Ford F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States since 1982,^[28] the Ford F-150, or indeed any full-sized pickup truck, is a rare sight in Europe, where higher fuel prices and narrower city roads make it difficult to use daily.^[29] In the United States, pickups are favored by a cultural attachment to the style, lower fuel prices, and taxes and regulations that distort the market in favor of domestically built trucks.^[19] As of 2016, the IRS offers tax breaks for business use of "any vehicle equipped with a cargo area ... of at least six feet in interior length that is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment".^[30]

In Europe, pickups represent less than 1% of light vehicles sold,^[31] the most popular being the Ford Ranger with 27,300 units sold in 2015.^[32] Other models include the Renault Alaskan (a rebadged Nissan Navara), and the Toyota Hilux.

The NOx law and other differing regulations prevent pickups from being imported to Japan, but the Japanese domestic market Mitsubishi Triton was available for a limited time. The most recent pickup truck on sale in Japan is the Toyota Hilux.

In China (where it is known by the English loanword as 皮卡车 pí kǎ chē), the Great Wall Wingle is manufactured domestically and exported to Australia.^[33] In Thailand, pickups manufactured for local sale and export include the Isuzu D-Max and the Mitsubishi Triton. In Latin and South America, the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, VW Amarok, Dodge Ram, Chevrolet S-10, Chevrolet D-20, and Chevrolet Montana are sold.

In South Africa, pickups account for about 17% of the passenger and light commercial vehicle sales, mostly the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, and Isuzu KB (Isuzu D-Max).^[34] The Volkswagen Amarok and Nissan Navara are also sold.