GM delivered 100,221 Silverado 1500s in the third quarter of 2026, up 13.3% on the same quarter of 2025. That is a strong result for a truck that is about to be replaced: the redesigned 2027 Silverado, with its new 5.7L and 6.6L V8s, is the next one dealers will sell. The heavy-duty side went the other way, and Ford is still comfortably ahead on the full year.

GM's trucks, quarter by quarter

ModelQ3 2026Q3 2025ChangeJan-Sep 2026
Silverado 1500100,22188,460+13.3%279,614
Silverado HD44,27849,231-10.1%133,769
Sierra 150056,32554,713+2.9%174,393
Sierra HD28,60430,723-6.9%78,246
Colorado25,17024,575+2.4%72,863
Canyon11,2469,539+17.9%33,545

GM U.S. deliveries for the third quarter of 2026, published 1 Oct 2026. Light-duty rows are GM's "LD" lines.

The half-ton gain is the headline, but the heavy-duty drop is the more interesting number. Silverado HD sales are down 13% for the year, and the Sierra HD is down almost 8%. Both trucks are also about to change: GM announced the 2027 HD trucks in September with the new 8.3L Duramax and a 38,000 lb maximum rating, which we covered in 2027 Silverado HD towing. Buyers who tow heavy have a reason to wait, and the numbers suggest some of them are.

Ford's lead, and a small gap in the math

Ford says F-Series sales reached 561,508 trucks through September, with September alone up 2.4% to 67,448, and that its lead over Chevrolet Silverado is now "more than 140,000 trucks". GM's own table puts every Silverado it sold this year, light duty, heavy duty, medium duty and EV together, at 422,713. Subtract one from the other and the gap is 138,795. Close to 140,000, but not over it. It does not change who is winning; it is a reminder that "lead" numbers in sales releases are chosen, not measured.

F-Series still outsells every Silverado combined by almost 139,000 trucks this year.

Ford also had its best quarter of Super Duty production in 19 years, 110,275 trucks, and set a third-quarter record for the Maverick Hybrid at 27,793. It flagged a short-term supplier problem that hit F-150 production at the end of September, which is worth watching if you are ordering one this fall.

At Toyota, total sales rose 0.6% to 633,223. Toyota does not break out the Tacoma in its release; industry tracker GoodCarBadCar puts the quarter at 71,027, down 3.5%, the Tacoma's first quarterly decline since 2024. It is still the best-selling midsize pickup by a wide margin.

Our viewA strong last quarter for the old Silverado 1500 is good news if you are shopping now: dealers want these trucks gone before the 2027s arrive, and the outgoing 5.3L and 6.2L trucks still have some of the best published tow ratings in the class. Check them against the 2027 figures on our Silverado 1500 towing page before you assume the new one is the better tow vehicle. On the 6.2L versus the new 6.6L, it is not.

Sources

  • General Motors, "GM U.S. Deliveries for Quarter 3 2026" and Q3 2026 U.S. sales release, 1 Oct 2026
  • Ford Motor Company, Q3 2026 U.S. sales release, 2 Oct 2026 (filed with the SEC as an 8-K exhibit)
  • Toyota Motor North America, "Toyota Motor North America Reports September, Third Quarter 2026 U.S. Sales Results", 1 Oct 2026
  • GoodCarBadCar, Toyota Tacoma Q3 2026 sales figures