Midsize Pickups Are Back

America loves trucks, but a funny thing happened following the pandemic: midsize truck sales fell. There are many reasons why this happened, including some related to the pandemic, though the dominance of one truck still played a big part. That’s over. The midsize truck is clearly back.

The Morning Dump will not be swayed by one year of data, but the trendlines are clear. I view the pandemic as a blip and not a trend. Hyundai looks at it the same way and will be jumping out of the relatively calm pond of the compact pickup truck market into far more treacherous waters.

There’s now more than one year of data on European sales, and it’s become even clearer that Tesla is shrinking into almost a non-entity. Some of that is due to Chinese automakers, and there’s yet another one to compete with, and it has an incredible name.

What’s left? Oh, right, Škoda has been competing in motorsports for 125 years, and so they’re celebrating with a very special car.

Who Will Challenge King Tacoma?

Everyone knows the truck market is large in the United States, and full-size pickup trucks never seem to waver. Just last year, the market saw a 4.7% year-over-year sales increase in full-size and HD pickup trucks to 2.3 million units, according to TFL Trucks. An analysis by TFL Trucks also shows that, over the same period of time, the midsize truck market grew by 24.4.%.

What is going on here? Some of this, probably, is cost. Midsize trucks are generally cheaper trim-to-trim compared to full-size trucks. In a market where affordability is key, downsizing might make sense for some consumers (although loyalty data shows truck buyers aren’t moving much). Some of this is the chip shortage, which forced automakers to choose between vehicles, and higher-margin full-size trucks usually won that battle.

A lot of this is just timing. Toyota sales were down in 2024 as the automaker swapped from the previous generation truck to the new one. Still, sales were up across most vehicles, with the exception of the Frontier and the Canyon. How much of Jeep’s sales were dealers trying to move 4XE Gladitors before the expiration of the tax credit? That answer will come at the end of Q1 2026.

Just because the Tacoma seems invincible, it doesn’t mean other people aren’t trying to get involved. Ram is going to build a Tacoma fighter, as is Hyundai. The Korean automaker will drop the Santa Cruz compact truck and, in its place, probably use the Kia Tasman as a base for a body-on-frame truck.

There’s an interesting discussion that Automotive News had with former Nissan VP of Product Planning Larry Dominique about just how hard this is to do.

He had a front-row seat as the company spent hundreds of millions struggling to establish the American-made, full-size Titan pickup against the formidable Detroit 3. It ran for 20 years and two generations before Nissan pulled the plug.

“Conquesting is hard,” Dominique said.

If the timing holds, dealers would lack a pickup in their lineup for about two years. The return of Ram to the midsize segment in 2028 with a new generation of the Dakota could further complicate matters for Hyundai.

“General Motors said the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon would grow the segment. They barely did,” Dominique said. “If you bring in 50,000 or 75,000 [Hyundai pickups], are you just going to cannibalize your existing lineup?”

It’ll be fun to watch if Hyundai and Ram can build into this space without just pulling their own customers away from other vehicles. For Ram, this is an obvious risk, though less so for Hyundai.

European Car Sales Down, EVs Ok, Tesla Not Ok

You can thank EVs for keeping the European car market from falling hard this January, as numbers from the ACEA show new car registrations down 3.9% year-over-year, even as the BEV market increased by 19.3%

In January 2026, 154,230 new battery-electric cars were registered, capturing 19.3% of the EU market share. The four largest markets in the EU, which together account for 60% of battery-electric car registrations, delivered mixed results: France (+52.1%) and Germany (+23.8%) recorded strong growth, while Belgium (-11.5%) and the Netherlands (-35.4%) experienced declines.

Hybrids are still the dominant choice, though.

Chinese automakers are on the rise, seemingly gaining a ton where Tesla is falling. Looking at this year, Tesla sales fell to just 8,075 units, and that includes EU + EFTA +UK data. That’s down from 9,945 in 2025 and 18,161 registrations in 2024.

By comparison, SAIC Motor has grown from 16,807 sales in 2024 to 19,354 in January 2026. Even more impressively, BYD has grown from negligible sales in 2024 to 18,242 units in the first month of 2026.

There was always going to be some form of adjustment as Tesla faced more competition, but this fully shows that people don’t view Tesla the same way.

It’s The LEPAS L8

There’s a new luxury-ish brand from Chinese automaker Chery that’ll be selling cars in the UK. It’s called LEPAS, and the first vehicle is the L8 crossover.

What’s with the name?

LEPAS, which combines “Leopard”, “Leap” and “Passion”, has been created to resonate with those seeking authenticity, intelligent design, and a bold, elevated everyday experience. Beyond mobility, it also aims to connect with creative and culturally progressive communities who value craftsmanship, aesthetic integrity, and expressive identity.

Perfect.

Škoda Has Been Racing For 125 Years, So Check This One Out

I didn’t realize this, but Škoda started doing motorcycle races 125 years ago, which goes to show that as soon as someone has a vehicle that can be raced, they’ll race it.

To celebrate this, the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 customer race car is getting a new look:

This package includes rear polycarbonate windows, crossmember covers for gravel and asphalt, an extra lights bag (if the extra lights are included in the purchase), six magnesium OZ rims in special colours, light engine wiring, an updated central panel, “125 Years” welcome display, and CV joint sleeves.

The anniversary pack is completed by decals in the “125 Years” design, a new Unique Dark Chrome logo on the bonnet, an interior plaque and a cloth car cover bearing the “125 Years Škoda Motorsport” logo. In addition, during the anniversary year each buyer of a new Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 will receive a selection of Škoda Motorsport merchandising items.

Someone please send me a Škoda rally jacket.

What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD

If you are completely removed from the world, you may not have heard the song “Man I Need” from Olivia Deen. This would have been the #1 song on VH1 if it had come out 20 years ago.

The Big Question

What would be the funniest brand to come out with a midsize truck in 2028?

Top photo: Ford, GM, Hyundai, Nissan