The greatest rivalries eventually find their way into the history books. There are classic sports matchups such as the old-school Lakers and Celtics rivalry, and long-running business tangles between juggernauts like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, or even the classic family feuds like the Hatfields and McCoys.
But few rivalries top the one between Detroit automotive juggernauts General Motors (GM 3.72%) and Ford Motor Company (F 2.35%), especially when it comes to ridiculously profitable full-size trucks and the bragging rights and margin they tow along with them. Both claim to be the leader through a play on words, but the data won't lie.
Image source: Ford Motor Company.
Numbers never lie
Before jumping to the key figures and bragging rights, it's worth noting for investors that both General Motors and Ford posted impressive results in 2025. Looking first at Ford, the automaker outperformed the industry for its 10th consecutive month in December, driving market share higher. In fact, it was Ford's best fourth quarter and annual sales performance since 2019.
NYSE: F
Key Data Points
General Motors, not to be outdone by its rival, actually led the U.S. auto industry in total sales last year, reporting a 6% gain in sales with growth across multiple areas of its product portfolio and brands. All four of General Motors' brands grew last year, with GMC setting a new sales record for its second consecutive year and Cadillac posting its best sales in a decade, and all in all, the automaker grew its sales with incentives lower than the industry average, which helps protect valuable margin.
But, when it comes to bragging rights, only one of these Detroit icons can take the cake.
Crowning the king
Now, before any fan or investor gets excited, I have to explain the numbers and wording. GM is America's full-size pickup leader for the sixth consecutive year with the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra recording their best combined sales in 20 years. However, if you listen to Ford spin it, the F-Series sold more than 820,000 trucks last year, a strong 8.3% jump, and outsold the nearest competitor by nearly a quarter-million trucks -- a growing gap compared to the prior year.
NYSE: GM
Key Data Points
The way the dust settles is simple: Ford sells its full-size trucks primarily through its F-Series namesake brand, which totaled sales of 828,832 trucks in 2025. General Motors' Chevrolet Silverado sold 588,709 trucks in 2025, while General Motors' GMC Sierra sold 356,218 trucks. So while it's true Ford's F-Series outsold its nearest competitor, the Silverado alone, by a large margin, when you combine two of General Motors' brands into simply full-size truck sales, it edges out the F-Series with a combined total of 944,927 trucks.
The numbers may not lie, but as with any good rivalry, how you interpret or compare them is up to the individual. For investors of either Ford or GM, the important note is that both are selling highly valuable trucks at a high rate, and ended 2025 with sales momentum heading into the new year.
