Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger top Australian car sales as utes dominate for fourth year in a row
Utes have cemented themselves as Australia’s favourite cars, with the Toyota HiLux becoming the nation’s top-selling vehicle outright for the fourth year in a row.
This means pick-ups filled the top two positions for the third year in succession.
According to official new-car sales results for 2019 released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the Toyota HiLux (47,649) cruised to a comfortable win ahead of the second-placed Ford Ranger (40,960).
However, a sales push on 4x4 variants of the Ford Ranger and the overall market slump of 7.8 per cent dented the HiLux’s dominance, with Toyota not able to repeat its previous year’s record result of 51,705 utes reported as sold.
A highlight for Ford: Ranger 4x4 variants (37,004) outsold HiLux 4x4 variants (36,325), albeit by a slim margin, for the full year for the first time ever.
The silver lining for Toyota: buoyed by sharp drive-away deals at the end of the year, sales of HiLux 4x4 variants in December (3264) brought to an end the eight-month winning streak of Ford Ranger 4x4 variants (3099).
The figures show just how reliant Ford is on the Ranger’s success, representing 64 per cent of the brand’s sales in 2019. By comparison, the HiLux represented 23 per cent or just shy of one-in-four of all new Toyotas sold last year.
Meanwhile, the Toyota Corolla (30,468) and Hyundai i30 (28,378) small cars finished the 2019 sales race in third and fourth place ahead of another ute, the Mitsubishi Triton, which posted a strong result (25,819) to round out the Top Five.
Official figures for December 2019 show new-car sales slowed for the 21st month in a row – the longest downturn since the Global Financial Crisis a decade ago and the weakest December since 2011 – as consumer confidence continued to wane and tighter credit requirements saw an increase in the number of finance applications knocked back.
The annual result of 1,062,867 vehicles reported as sold was the lowest tally since 2011, a decline of 7.8 per cent compared to 2018 – and the second year in a row the car industry went backwards after three record years in succession.
Ute dominance: 2019 new-car sales official results
Toyota HiLux: 47,649, down 7.8 per cent
Ford Ranger: 40,960, down 2.8 per cent
Toyota Corolla: 30,468, down 13.7 per cent
Hyundai i30: 28,378, up 0.7 per cent
Mitsubishi Triton: 25,819, up 3.7 per cent
Mazda CX-5: 25,539, down 2.4 per cent
Mazda3: 24,939, down 19.7 per cent
Toyota RAV4: 24,260, up 9.5 per cent
Kia Cerato: 21,757, up 16.8 per cent
Mitsubishi ASX: 20,806, up 9.3 per cent