VFACTS: Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux top ute sales, but others are closing the gap
The Toyota HiLux – Australia’s top-selling vehicle for the sixth year in a row – has started 2022 with another win, but Chinese utes are closing the gap.
The two-way battle between the top-selling Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger utes has spilled into the new year, with both brands landing victories.
The Toyota HiLux was number one for the month, according to official statistician VFACTS, when sales of 4×4 and 4×2 models are combined – as is industry practice.
But while the Ford Ranger ranked second according to sales by nameplate, it outsold the Toyota HiLux when only 4×4 models are compared.
While the top two contenders are in a bit of a scrap, rivals are using the opportunity to close the sales gap, with big increases last month from Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Mazda. Chinese utes from Great Wall Motors and LDV are also gaining momentum.
In a year that will continue to see production slowdowns due to semiconductor shortages – and employee absenteeism due to COVID-19 – utes are poised to remain one of Australia’s most popular vehicle segments.
Indeed, 18.2 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia last month – almost one in five – was a ute.
The Toyota HiLux – the best-selling vehicle outright in Australia for six years running – continued its winning form with 3591 deliveries in January 2022. In second place was the Ford Ranger, which reported 3245 examples as sold.
These numbers come from combining 4×4 and 4×2 sales overall as a nameplate.
However, when you extract sales data for the more popular four-wheel drive utes, it’s the Ford Ranger that took the lead last month.
Ford reported 2986 four-wheel drive Rangers as sold in January 2022, compared to 2569 four-wheel drive HiLuxes.
The Mitsubishi Triton has roared back into life in 2022, after finally getting a good supply of vehicles.
Mitsubishi reported 2604 four-wheel drive Tritons as sold in January 2022 – a rare win against the Toyota HiLux 4×4 – and 272 two-wheel drives for 2867 sales in total.
Other strong performers include usual suspects such as the Isuzu D-Max (1895), Mazda BT-50 (1,222) and Nissan Navara ( 1179 total).
A new battle is looming for 2022, between Chinese brands LDV and Great Wall Motors. Both relatively new models, the LDV T60 and GWM Ute both sold remarkably similar numbers in January this year.
The LDV T60 (233) was edged out by the GWM Ute (261), following a trend of GWM winning narrowly in 2021 overall (6906 vs 6705), and accounting for about 7 per cent of overall ute sales last year.
The Volkswagen Amarok doesn’t enjoy the same overall volume as other competitors, with only 245 being marked as sold so far in 2022. But it’s not from a lack of demand, as the dealers report key models being sold out until October 2022.
Another ute with a long waiting list is the Toyota 70 Series LandCruiser. Waiting times of 12 to 18 months are being quoted by dealers, depending on the variant. So far, 713 sales of the 70 Series in 2022 represents a 19.8 percent drop in comparison to the same month last year.
| January 2022 VFACTS ute sales | 4×4 | 4×2 | Total |
| Toyota HiLux | 2569 | 1022 | 3591 |
| Ford Ranger | 2986 | 259 | 3245 |
| Mitsubishi Triton | 2604 | 272 | 2876 |
| Isuzu D-Max | 1454 | 441 | 1895 |
| Mazda BT-50 | 1047 | 175 | 1222 |
| Nissan Navara | 1019 | 160 | 1179 |
| Toyota LandCruiser | 713 | – | 713 |
| GWM Ute | 229 | 32 | 261 |
| Volkswagen Amarok | 245 | – | 245 |
| LDV T60 | 233 | – | 233 |
| Ram 1500 | 161 | – | 161 |
| Ssangyong Musso | 139 | – | 139 |
| Jeep Gladiator | 115 | – | 115 |
| Chevrolet Silverado | 90 | – | 90 |
| Ram 2500 | 32 | – | 32 |
| Chevrolet Silverado HD | 13 | – | 13 |
| GWM Steed | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Ram 3500 | 3 | – | 3 |
| Total | 13653 | 2364 | 16017 |
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