Texas is pickup truck country and the front line in an expanding battle among auto makers to load up on profits from pickups, one of the richest businesses up for grabs as the global auto business roars back to life.
After years of waiting on the sidelines, pickup buyers are returning to dealer showrooms, offering millions of dollars in profit and potentially lifelong brand loyalty to Ford Motor Co., F +0.24% General Motors Co. GM +0.93% or Chrysler Group LLC and rivals.
Sales of large pickups are up 20% for the first four months of this year compared with a year ago—bigger gains than in small cars or midsize cars, according to Autodata Corp. In Texas, pickups accounted for a whopping 23% of the state's 22.6 million registered vehicles last year.
The battle for shoppers is expected to intensify into 2014. Last year, 1.6 million pickup trucks were sold in the U.S.; this year, analysts and industry executives expect sales nationally to hit 1.8 million and possibly 2 million in 2014.