Alaska (USA) Full Year 2017: Ford F-150 leads, Ram 2500 stuns in “Last Frontier”

Ram 2500 sales are up 44% year-on-year in Alaska in 2017.

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title *

Thanks to our partnership with JATO Dynamics, after exploring Full Year 2017 State by State sales in the U.S., we zoom in on the most significant States. Its size, isolation from the “lower 49” and peculiar transport network – it’s impossible to drive from one end of the State to the other – really make Alaska “the Last Frontier” and a perfect candidate for a Special Report of its own. I have documented this State with extensive Photo Reports made during my trip there in 2015, going from Barrow at the extreme northwest to  Ketchikan in the southeast.

The Ford F-150 remains the best-selling vehicle in Alaska.

Note that even though it is by far the largest State in America, Alaska is the second smallest new vehicle market with its Top 10 accounting for just 6.624 sales, above only the District of Columbia at 4.497. The sales ranking differs from our last 2015 update as heavy duty variants of all full-size pickup trucks are now counted separately. The Ford F-150 manages to stay in pole position despite sales down 11% year-on-year after a 18% drop in 2016. The Ram 1500 grows from #4 in 2015 to #3 in 2016 and #2 this year thanks to deliveries edging up 2%, while the Subaru Outback leaps from #5 both in 2015 and 2016 directly to #3 in 2017 with sales up a sizeable 24%, knocking the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (-14%) down two spots to #4.

The Subaru Outback is up 24% to #3 in Alaska this year.

The only heavy duty pickup in the Top 10, the Ram 2500 posts the largest year-on-year gain among the State’s ten best-sellers at +44% to break into the Top 5 at #5, its highest State ranking anywhere in 2017 bar Utah (#2) and Wyoming (#3). The Forester makes it two Subarus in Alaska’s Top 6, among the best State results for the Japanese carmaker in 2017 along with Colorado (2 in Top 3, 3 in Top 10), Connecticut (3 in Top 7, 4 in Top 10), Oregon (2 in Top 4, 3 in Top 10), Vermont (2 in Top 5, 4 in Top 10) and Washington (2 in Top 5, 3 in Top 10). With the Patriot (#10 in 2016) now discontinued, Jeep has one remaining nameplate in Alaska’s Top 10: the Cherokee (+6%). The Toyota Tacoma makes it five pickups in the Top 10 and the Chevrolet Cruze is the only passenger car in the Top 10, propped up by sales to rental car companies.

Previous post: Alaska (USA) Full Year 2015: Ram Pickup swoops up in front

Full Year 2017 Top 10 models ranking vs. Full Year 2016 figures below.