2020 Will Be the Year of the New Heavy Duty Trucks (Op/Ed)

2020 ford super duty chevy gmc hd ram
Next generation Heavy Duty trucks are coming

The 2020 model year is looking to be focused on next generation heavy duty trucks. What is it all about? Why are the big three HD truck manufacturers targeting 2020 as the year for new 3/4-ton and 1-ton heavy haulers? Just to be clear, I am talking about the 2020 model year designation or 2019 calendar year timeframe.

Pickup truck market is so competitive that when one manufacturer announces a plan to launch a new truck in a certain year, then competitors are not far behind to counter-punch the others.

Ram Trucks announced a plan in January 2018 to move its HD truck production from Mexico to Michigan and produce a new heavy duty truck for 2020.

In February 2018, first images of the 2020 Chevy HD truck prototypes reached the interwebs. Note: there is no official confirmation from Chevrolet yet that a new heavy duty truck is coming for 2020 model year.

Last week (in March 2018), Ford announced that a “new F-Series Super Duty debuts in 2019″, presumably as a 2020 model.

As competition gets tougher, the trucks are getting refreshed and redesigned more often. Competition makes all trucks better, and consumers are the big winners.

Naturally, all the latest technology, added capability, and the trend towards more luxury features will continue to drive the price of trucks higher than ever. The $100,000 HD trucks in higher trims will be common. It’s probably not very long before we tow 35,000 lbs trailers up the Ike Gauntlet™ with the latest one-ton duallies. HD trucks will see more driver assistance and automation features. Multi-camera systems will be a given, while convenience and driver-aide systems such adaptive cruise and trailer backup will get more advanced.

While we wait for 2020 HD trucks to make their debut, don’t forget that 2019 will be the year of the new half-ton and midsize trucks. All-new 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, Ram 1500 already made their debuts and reaching dealerships this calendar year. Ford says, that an updated Ford F150 Raptor is coming this calendar year (as a 2019 model). Toyota is likely to show the next generation Tundra within the next year as well.

There are also the 2019 Ford Ranger and the 2019 Jeep Wrangler pickup (aka. Scrambler) – just to name a few. More on the half-tons and midsize truck in another post.

What features or capability do you value the most in a new heavy duty truck? Let us know in the comments below.