Ford and GM Increase Destination Charges to $2,795 on Full-Size Trucks

The mandatory destination charges on new cars and trucks have been steadily creeping up for the past few years, but that’s particularly the case for buyers of Ford and General Motors full-size pickup trucks and SUVs. The two biggest automakers are now charging a whopping $2,795 to ship these vehicles from factories to dealerships.

The uptick in destination charges was first reported by TFL Truck, which confirmed via a survey of online configurators that the $2,795 charge currently applies to full-size and heavy-duty pickups, as well as full-size SUVs, across multiple brands at the two automakers. That includes Lincoln in addition to the main Ford brand, as well as both Chevrolet and GMC over at GM. Cadillac charges an even higher destination fee of $2,895 for the Escalade.

Destination charges have risen by up to 48% since 2021 as automakers have run out of ways to hide overall price increases, and the current tariff situation isn’t helping in that regard. But both Ford and GM spokespeople declined to state specific reasons for the latest increases, saying only that these fees reflect shipping costs, and that they’re always subject to change.

“These charges, which reflect factory to dealer vehicle shipping costs, are reviewed and adjusted as necessary to keep consistent with the industry,” a Ford spokesperson said, adding that the automaker calculates an average so that customers pay the same amount everywhere in the country, and noting that destination is less for smaller vehicles (it’s currently $1,495 for a Lincoln Corsair). Those are industry-standard practices.

For GM’s part, a company spokesperson said, “We review and adjust destination and freight charges in relation to market conditions and costs.”

Ram and Toyota charge less, but not by much. At the time of publication, the destination fee for a Ram 1500 was $2,595, and Toyota was charging $2,095 for shipping a Tundra from the factory. A difference of a few hundred dollars isn’t much compared to overall price of these trucks, admittedly, and it’s possible these two brands will raise their destination fees too.

Got a tip? Send it in: tips@thedrive.com