Ranger Sales & Production Report - May 2026

[Administrator]

Ford Ranger May 2026 Sales & Production Report:

4,849 sold (-23.3% increase YoY)
27,869 sold year-to-date (-1.3% increase YoY)
6,099 produced in May
26,503 produced YTD in 2026

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[Ron Quixote]

So sales are essentially flat this year. That surprises me a bit, with gas prices being as high as they are. I figured there would be a few more people choosing Ranger over F150.

 

[alrashid2]

I really don't get why the Ranger doesnt do better. I'd never buy a Maverick - it's not a real truck, too small, too low, and absolutely hate how it looks - and I'd never buy an F-150 - way too big.

I'm coming from owning Subarus for 15 years, and I had similar sentiments when I bought my last vehicle, a 2015 Crosstrek. I had driven Outbacks in the past but I'd never buy a new one, it's way too freaking big! The 2015 Crosstrek, a compact SUV, is the same size as a 2002 Outback, which is a full size wagon! Same thing with the Ranger - it's basically the same size as an F-150 of yesteryear.

You'd think Rangers would be the perfect truck. I honestly blame the lack of marketing. I've never once seen or heard a Ford Ranger commercial.

 

[saf1]

So sales are essentially flat this year. That surprises me a bit, with gas prices being as high as they are. I figured there would be a few more people choosing Ranger over F150.

Gas prices are transitionary and reactive in the grand scheme of things with the exception of California.

I see the potential for the current 2026 Ranger models to steal sales from the F150 if Ford promoted the Ranger anymore. Unless one needs towing / load capacity the Ranger is a steal in my opinion.

 

[RonM_TX]

I really don't get why the Ranger doesnt do better. I'd never buy a Maverick - it's not a real truck, too small, too low, and absolutely hate how it looks - and I'd never buy an F-150 - way too big.

I'm coming from owning Subarus for 15 years, and I had similar sentiments when I bought my last vehicle, a 2015 Crosstrek. I had driven Outbacks in the past but I'd never buy a new one, it's way too freaking big! The 2015 Crosstrek, a compact SUV, is the same size as a 2002 Outback, which is a full size wagon! Same thing with the Ranger - it's basically the same size as an F-150 of yesteryear.

You'd think Rangers would be the perfect truck. I honestly blame the lack of marketing. I've never once seen or heard a Ford Ranger commercial.

Main reason two reasons for poor Ranger sales in my opinion is lack of advertising for the Ranger and low production numbers. The plant keeps building lots of Broncos with 37,000 on dealership lots while there are only 11,000 Rangers on lots.
When was the last time you saw an ad for the Ranger? When I bought mine in 2025 most of my friends were surprised Ford was still building the Ranger. If people don't know that it is still in production it's going to be a hard sell for sure and have low sales. Amazingly the Ranger is the second best selling midsize pickup in the world but you would never know it here in North America.

 

[HighDesertRanger]

The biggest reason is Ford absolutely refuses to market the Ranger in any capacity whatsoever.

 

[Wallowa Ranger]

I really don't get why the Ranger doesnt do better. I'd never buy a Maverick - it's not a real truck, too small, too low, and absolutely hate how it looks - and I'd never buy an F-150 - way too big.

The Maverick does great because it works well for people who live in urban areas (80% of the US population) who need a truck for home projects, but still need something with the comforts of a daily commuter (MPG, compact size, reasonable price, etc). I briefly owned a Maverick and really did enjoy it (esspecially the gas mileage), but I felt for my rural lifestyle that it wasn't the best choice. If I lived in a more urbanized area it would've been a great truck. I actually looked closely at a Ranger prior to buying my Maverick but was turned off by the prices. If it wasn't for the great deal I got on my Ranger, I probably would've wound up in a Nissan Frontier.

I don't believe the Ranger is competitively priced for what you get. I feel that Ford really likes to nickel and dime for features based on trim level. You get the XL, XLT, and Lariat. By the time you enter lariat territory you're already in the ballpark of F-150 prices. A spec'd out XLT will be right at the cusp of hitting F-150 prices. The F-series is Ford's baby in the US. They do not want to cannibalize those sales by pushing people towards the Ranger because having the title of number one selling truck in America is great advertising. You can't tell me the marketing executives at Chevy or Dodge don't wish they didn't have that title. If you don't believe me, check out this article from 2018 about the return of the Ranger.

If you look at Australia, Ford does market the Ranger because its constantly neck and neck with the Toyota HiLux to be the best selling vehicle in Australia. They also offer a huge variety of Ranger models there - XLT, Wildtrak, Platinum, Wolftrak, Tremor, Raptor, Stormtrak (PHEV), and super duty.





But, there is something to say about Ford selling 27,000 Rangers with a near zero marketing budget for that item. That tells me that the truck is literally selling itself so Ford must be doing something right.

 

[alrashid2]

The Maverick does great because it works well for people who live in urban areas (80% of the US population) who need a truck for home projects, but still need something with the comforts of a daily commuter (MPG, compact size, reasonable price, etc). I briefly owned a Maverick and really did enjoy it (esspecially the gas mileage), but I felt for my rural lifestyle that it wasn't the best choice. If I lived in a more urbanized area it would've been a great truck. I actually looked closely at a Ranger prior to buying my Maverick but was turned off by the prices. If it wasn't for the great deal I got on my Ranger, I probably would've wound up in a Nissan Frontier.

I don't believe the Ranger is competitively priced for what you get. I feel that Ford really likes to nickel and dime for features based on trim level. You get the XL, XLT, and Lariat. By the time you enter lariat territory you're already in the ballpark of F-150 prices. A spec'd out XLT will be right at the cusp of hitting F-150 prices. The F-series is Ford's baby in the US. They do not want to cannibalize those sales by pushing people towards the Ranger because having the title of number one selling truck in America is great advertising. You can't tell me the marketing executives at Chevy or Dodge don't wish they didn't have that title. If you don't believe me, check out this article from 2018 about the return of the Ranger.

If you look at Australia, Ford does market the Ranger because its constantly neck and neck with the Toyota HiLux to be the best selling vehicle in Australia. They also offer a huge variety of Ranger models there - XLT, Wildtrak, Platinum, Wolftrak, Tremor, Raptor, Stormtrak (PHEV), and super duty.





But, there is something to say about Ford selling 27,000 Rangers with a near zero marketing budget for that item. That tells me that the truck is literally selling itself so Ford must be doing something right.

Very good writeup and I couldn't agree with you more.

I'll also add n=1 of datapoints and say that, if the Ranger did not exist, I would not buy an F-150. Too big, too expensive even still. I also wouldn't buy a Mav. I'd probably go Tacoma.

 

[RonM_TX]

Very good writeup and I couldn't agree with you more.

I'll also add n=1 of datapoints and say that, if the Ranger did not exist, I would not buy an F-150. Too big, too expensive even still. I also wouldn't buy a Mav. I'd probably go Tacoma.

I wanted something that fit in my garage so it was between Ranger, Frontier and regular cab short bed F150. Never considered Maverick, Tacoma or Colorado for various reasons.
I contacted a couple of dozen Ford dealerships in my quest for a RR. Many of the salesman were oblivious to the Ranger and their inventory of them. Sad not even the salesmen knew much about the Ranger.
Ford is really missing out on sales of the Ranger. Ford's sales are in free fall right now and definitely could use an uptick with Ranger sales. Look at Toyota, record sales of the Tacoma, look at the Frontier with huge sales gains. Only Ford is getting pummeled in the midsize segment.

 

[bgn]

The Maverick is a fantastic choice for many people. I've had one for 4.5 years. Up to 1500 pounds payload, available AWD (which is phenomenal), and good mileage (especially in the hybrid where the real value is) is a very good proposition.

 

[purdyd]

I wanted something that fit in my garage so it was between Ranger, Frontier and regular cab short bed F150. Never considered Maverick, Tacoma or Colorado for various reasons.
I contacted a couple of dozen Ford dealerships in my quest for a RR. Many of the salesman were oblivious to the Ranger and their inventory of them. Sad not even the salesmen knew much about the Ranger.
Ford is really missing out on sales of the Ranger. Ford's sales are in free fall right now and definitely could use an uptick with Ranger sales. Look at Toyota, record sales of the Tacoma, look at the Frontier with huge sales gains. Only Ford is getting pummeled in the midsize segment.

I wonder how much impact the recent recalls had on sales which would effectively block selling certain vehicles.

and yes, Ranger sales don’t look bad until you look at in the context of Toyota and Chevy/GMC

to me that sector should be more equal in sales

and with the full size trucks growing in size and mid size growing in size, more and more people are buying midsize

so if ford takes its eye off this market they find the f150 might not be the savior they thought it was

And i don’t think the Maverick will have the monopoly in its segment for long.

the new electric “midsize“ truck is interesting in part because of the technology that will come out of it and I understood that more of the “stuff” had been taken back internally. That might long term lead to better and more reliable products.

and there is supposed to be a new ice truck in 2029.

and there has always been a rumor of a bronco pickup.

 

[HighDesertRanger]

I wanted something that fit in my garage so it was between Ranger, Frontier and regular cab short bed F150. Never considered Maverick, Tacoma or Colorado for various reasons.
I contacted a couple of dozen Ford dealerships in my quest for a RR. Many of the salesman were oblivious to the Ranger and their inventory of them. Sad not even the salesmen knew much about the Ranger.
Ford is really missing out on sales of the Ranger. Ford's sales are in free fall right now and definitely could use an uptick with Ranger sales. Look at Toyota, record sales of the Tacoma, look at the Frontier with huge sales gains. Only Ford is getting pummeled in the midsize segment.

Ford is only losing this segment because they choose to. With just a little advertising they would overtake Nissan and the GM twins. Ford has the best midsize truck available. Might take a while to overtake Tacoma, but it's doable with a better product. They already have in Australia and Europe. In the US they're just afraid of cannibalizing F series sales. Rename the Ranger to the F-100 and it becomes the number one midsize truck in the world.

 

[RonM_TX]

I think a Bronco pickup would have the same fate as the Jeep Gladiator. Not all that useful, overpriced and ride quality compared to a real pickup.

 

[Wallowa Ranger]

Look at Toyota, record sales of the Tacoma, look at the Frontier with huge sales gains. Only Ford is getting pummeled in the midsize segment.

The Frontier really punches above its weight, but it needs to in order to be relevant. The only company selling less trucks than Nissan is Honda with the Ridgeline (which actually has tons of cool features if you look into it). The MSRP on my Ranger was $44,160. It's an XLT with the locking diff, sport package, advanced tow & tech package, etc. I don't even have power seats or heated seats. For reference, I pulled up a Frontier SV from a dealer in Washington. This is roughly equivalent to the XLT in trim level. For $130 more, you could get everything my XLT has and power seats, heated seats + steering wheel, dual zone climate control, steel skid plate (only standard on FX4), drop-in bed liner, and all-weather floor mats. For an extra $130 that's a no brainer. Nissan is also currently offering $3,500 in customer cash so this truck I linked would actually be $40,730. Cheaper than my Ranger with more features. I was fortunate to find a screaming deal that let me get my Ranger for $34,900. A much more reasonable price in my opinion. Unless Ford can find a way to make the Ranger more affordable it's going to get tossed to the wayside by consumers.

 

[Lion77]

Until you start towing....then the price difference becomes very clear. The frontier will tow its weight, but only marginally. Look of TFL's IKE towing test comparing the Ranger to the Frontier. When you actually use the truck for a work truck, the Ranger just does a much better job. And they weren't even at max weight because they compared it to a Raptor which has a reduced towing capacity of 5,500 lbs and the Frontier barely managed to get up the IKE pass even at its reduced weight. They said they wouldn't attempt it at max payload, but they did with the XLT Ranger 2.7L.

Then there's the cab size, the Ranger hands down has a much bigger interior than the Frontier, one of my co-workers has a Frontier Pro 4X, it's a nice truck, but it's small and especially against my Raptor, it looks really small. Watch any review and you'll see how small the frontier actually is inside compared to the Gen 2 Rangers.

For some that matters a lot, especially when looking to haul around kids and stuff. The payload on the Frontier is also only 1,220 lbs...not very good for a mid-sized truck today. My Raptor does 1,400 lbs and that's the specialized off-road variant with big squishy tires and 10" of travel on plush fox shocks....the XTL's and other standard trims have a payload in the 1,700 to 1,800 lbs range.

The Frontier is cheaper because it's less capable. Period, so they can throw in more tech. The interior is also quite inferior in quality compared to the Rangers, especially the Raptors, TFL touched on some of those points. So, it's not really a 100% apples to apples because there are significant differences in real world capabilities between the two trucks and how well they actually do "truck stuff", especially when you compare the Frontier to the 2.7L XLT going up-hill...it's night and day.

So, it all depends on what you're doing with it. If you want bang for buck and don't tow much or mostly smaller loads on flat ground, the Frontier is a good bargain, but if you tow frequently or need more payload / cargo room, the Ranger hands down.

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