Buyers often see many trim levels of familiar truck nameplates, including sophisticated, high-end options. In recent years, these have included the Chevy Silverado 1500 High Country, Ford F-150 Platinum, Ram 1500 Tungsten, and Nissan Titan XD Platinum Reserve. Yet there’s one thing in short supply: trucks from luxury brands. Although automakers like Volvo, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi offer plenty of luxury SUVs and crossovers, you seemingly never see them release trucks.
It seems odd at first glance. Trucks remain some of the best-selling vehicles in North America. Meanwhile, luxury cars have soared worldwide, with Grand View Research projecting the market size to grow an average of 7.2% annually through 2030. However, combining the two has proven a tough nut to crack.
Why has there been such a dearth of true luxury trucks? Is it a sub-segment that can eventually find success? Let’s look at several past and present attempts by luxury brands to make trucks, from which we’ll try to glean some lessons about why they have or haven’t worked out.
How Did Past Luxury Trucks Fare?
I’ll start with a few trucks that previously saw the light of day in the 21st century.. The only major previous attempts came from Lincoln and Cadillac, the luxury divisions of Ford and GM. This made sense on the surface, but it didn’t go well in practice.
Lincoln Blackwood
The Ford Motor Company first entered the luxury truck business in the early 2000s with a truck that ended up being a commercial flop. The Lincoln Blackwood was effectively a cross between the Ford F-150 SuperCrew truck and the Lincoln Navigator SUV. It had a truck body but used the Navigator’s engine, a 5.4L V8 with 300 hp and 355 lb-ft of torque. It also made many then-optional amenities standard, including cruise control, air conditioning, a garage door opener, a trip computer, and a compass display.
In retrospect, the Blackwood has been hailed as a forerunner of modern elegant trucks. But when the truck went into production in August 2001, there weren’t many takers. In 2002, its only full year on the market, a mere 3,066 Lincoln Blackwoods were sold. That was enough for Lincoln, which pulled the plug on the automaker’s shortest production run ever. It took another two years to sell off the excess inventory.
Lincoln Mark LT
The Lincoln Continental Mark (later Lincoln Mark) series was one of Ford’s most famous luxury efforts, spanning over 40 years. In the mid-2000s, Lincoln decided to revive the name for a second attempt at trucks. Like the Blackwood, the Lincoln Mark LT was based on the famed Ford F-150 with some big upgrades.
For comparison, the base Ford F-150 had a 4.2L V6 engine with 202 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. The base Lincoln Mark LT, meanwhile, was fitted with a 5.4L V8 like the Blackwood, and the Signature trim level upped the ante with a 6.8L V10. Further creature comforts like heated front seats and a multi-function steering wheel were introduced.
Sales started out promising per GoodCarBadCar.net, with 10,274 trucks sold in 2005 (for the 2006 model year), followed by 12,753 in 2006. But then the Lincoln Mark LT declined fast, selling only 4,631 units in 2008. At that point, Lincoln discontinued the truck in North America, though it continued making the Mark LT for Mexico through 2014.
Cadillac Escalade EXT
General Motors also joined the luxury truck ventures.. The same year the Blackwood came out, Cadillac released the Escalade EXT. The truck was a badge twin of the Chevrolet Avalanche, but took its name from the full-size SUV that had helped revive the Cadillac brand when it was released in 1999.
The original Escalade EXT also had the same power plant as the AWD Escalade, a 6.0L V8 generating 345 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque versus the 285 and 325 in the Avalanche. A later second-generation truck popped in a 6.2L V8 with 403 hp. The Escalade EXT also had similar amenities to its SUV cousin, with later models offering six-way power-adjustable front seats, lumbar support, leather upholstery, electric foldable side mirrors, and more.
After selling more than 13,000 Escalade EXTs in 2002, sales declined annually afterward. Unlike Ford’s short-lived efforts, though, GM stuck with its Cadillac luxury truck for a dozen years. It wasn’t until sales fell below 2,000 units in 2012 and 2013 that GM finally gave up.
Present Luxury Trucks
While the mainstream brands offer some luxurious trims, two true luxury trucks are currently available, with no others I could find officially in development. It may not be a coincidence that both are EVs from newer brands, with automakers choosing this market to revive attempts at luxury trucks.
Rivian R1T
Rivian was founded in 2009 to make luxury EVs, and the year 2021 saw them go trucking. The R1T is a midsize pickup first previewed in May 2018, with the first truck completed in September 2021. Sales neared 20,000 units in 2023 before dropping below 16,000 in 2024. Year-to-year numbers tailed off badly in late 2024 and early 2025, though it remains to be seen if this is a blip or a sign of things to come.
Where the Rivian R1T has undoubtedly succeeded is in the eyes of critics. MotorTrend named the vehicle its 2022 Truck of the Year for its combination of power, off-road prowess, and comfort. Its most capable quad-motor version exceeds 1,000 hp, its towing and payload capacities rival traditional full-size trucks, and there are remarkable infotainment features. The truck also won a 2023 J.D. Power award for the highest owner satisfaction rating, which Rivian must hope translates to higher sales down the line.
Tesla Cybertruck
The newest player comes from one of the world’s largest EV manufacturers. After years of previews and delays, Tesla finally released the Cybertruck in 2024. It doesn’t look like a traditional truck, with a shape that more resembles a pyramid than a car. The Cybertruck doesn’t drive like a traditional truck, either, with up to 845 hp, fully enclosed rear storage space, sports-car-like handling, and Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software.
So far, the Tesla Cybertruck has come the closest of any luxury truck to a mainstream hit. In its first year of availability, from April 2024 through March 2025, the Cybertruck sold just under 30,000 vehicles to U.S. buyers. Although far below the numbers of popular trucks like the Silverado and F-150, it’s very competitive in the electric segment. Over the second half of 2024, it ranked among the top five for EV sales and led all electric trucks.
Obstacles to Successful Luxury Brand Trucks
Despite the promise seen from the R1T and Cybertruck, true luxury trucks are a long way from being permanent fixtures. Why haven’t they taken hold before now? I think there are three reasons.
First, the longtime pickup truck image of ruggedness clashes with the luxury image of sleek sophistication, and it’s hard to square the two. The only German automaker to try was Mercedes-Benz with its non-U.S. X-Class, and that only lasted three years from 2017- to 2020 before, you guessed it, poor sales led to its end.
Second, for an automaker without an existing lineup, designing a truck and setting up production would cost a lot of time and money. Ford and GM could take the risk because they had other pickups to build from. Rivian and Tesla are used to taking risks and being disruptive, and luxury trucks are a logical extension of this attitude.
Third, as noted at the start, luxury versions of existing trucks are already available. These trucks have the latest high-end features such as large engines, adaptive suspensions, woodgrain trim, and head-up displays. When combined with the name recognition, other established automakers may view it as a losing battle.
Still, as seen by Rivian and Tesla, a brave few are willing to try. The sales of these steeds over the next few years will go a long way towards determining whether luxury brands think it’s worth joining the fray.
