Ford Ranger changeover sees Toyota HiLux outsell everything at least twice over in July
The Toyota HiLux continued its annihilation of Australia’s new-car market in VFACTS July 2022 data, when it was once again the nation’s best-selling vehicle and this time out-sold the rest of the top 10 by at least 100 per cent.
This feat elevated Toyota’s yearly sales tally to almost 141,000 units.
The Japanese giant shifted 19,566 vehicles last month in comparison with Mazda’s 7879 and Hyundai’s 6792 (in second and third place respectively), buoyed by consistently strong sales of the HiLux, RAV4, LandCruiser and Corolla.
No fewer than 6441 HiLuxs were registered last month compared to just 2934 Ford Rangers.
The Ford ute’s generational changeover was a factor here given supplies of the old model are running dry and the first deliveries of the new Ranger only commencing in the final week of July.
This saw the Ranger’s July sales figure slump by 27.8 per cent, from 4064 in June to just 2934, but that was still enough to make it the second most popular new vehicle last month and a big bounce back should be on the cards in the coming months as deliveries of the new model ramps ups.
The top three was rounded out by the Toyota RAV4 medium SUV, of which 2437 examples were delivered, as the overall market climbed just 0.4 per cent year-on-year with 84,461 vehicles sold in total last month.
Positions four and five went to the Mazda CX-5 (2346) and Hyundai Tucson (2186), with a pair of Toyotas – LandCruiser (2146) and Corolla (1982) – breathing down their necks in sixth and seventh.
The Corolla was the only traditional passenger vehicle to crack the top 10 last month; the usually present Hyundai i30 fell less than 80 units short of the Kia Sportage (1837) in 10th.
While it may have only had one model just scrape into the top 10, Kia was the fourth-best selling brand last month with a tally of 6711 deliveries; just 81 units short of its sister brand in third.
Mitsubishi, Isuzu utes perform well…
Mitsubishi saw the first month of the new financial year out in fifth (5611), even though its only model inside the top 10 was the aging Mitsubishi Triton (1879).
The Triton placed ninth overall for sales in July, just behind the ever-present Isuzu D-MAX (1930) that continues to do the heavy lifting for Isuzu Ute Australia (IUA).
Despite only having a two-model portfolio, IUA still managed to be the ninth best selling brand in July, with its 2748 sales knocking on Subaru’s door in eighth (2822).
Sandwiched in between the Japanese brands in sixth and seventh were Ford (4439) and MG (3018) respectively, while Mercedes-Benz rounded out the top 10 with 2479 deliveries.
…but LCV sales slip back
Even with the runaway success of the HiLux and the presence of the Ranger, D-MAX and Triton in the top 10, light commercial vehicle sales collectively slipped by 4.4 per cent last month in comparison with July 2021, while the SUV market continued its unwavering upward trajectory with a 6.4 per cent year-on-year improvement.
As evidenced by the Corolla, the passenger car market is doing the opposite and continuing to decline – last month by 9.1 per cent or 1596 vehicles.
Market “hasn’t normalised”
The steady if unremarkable July sales total takes 2022’s running tally to 622,319, of which Toyota has contributed 140,942 units or 22.6 per cent.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief Tony Weber said the flat VFACTS July 2022 results showed the market still hasn’t normalised as pandemic-induced production and shipping issues continue to wreak havoc.
“Vehicle and component manufacturing operations remain affected by plant shutdowns caused by COVID-19,” he said.
“While small growth on the same month in 2021 is encouraging, we do not expect the supply of vehicles to Australia to stabilise in the near future.
“Once again Australia is following the global trend of demand for new vehicles exceeding supply.”
Electrification is continuing to gain traction in Australia, with a combined 7966 hybrid, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles being sold last month, the bulk of which were hybrids (6779).
EVs once again outsold PHEVs (609 v 578) even though the latter saw a 77.8 per cent upswing in VFACTS July 2022 data compared to the corresponding month last year. That should continue following this week’s launch of the new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
Of those 609 EV sales, the Polestar 2 reigned supreme with 94 deliveries.
Top 10 vehicle sales (July 2022)
- Toyota HiLux – 6441
- Ford Ranger – 2934
- Toyota RAV4 – 2437
- Mazda CX-5 – 2346
- Hyundai Tucson – 2186
- Toyota LandCruiser – 2146
- Toyota Corolla – 1982
- Isuzu D-MAX – 1930
- Mitsubishi Triton – 1879
- Kia Sportage – 1837
Top 10 brands (2022 year to date)
- Toyota – 140,942
- Mazda – 57,811
- Mitsubishi – 47,359
- Kia – 46,130
- Hyundai – 44,959
- Ford – 33,001
- MG – 27,525
- Isuzu – 21,537
- Subaru – 19,819
- Nissan – 17,438
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://editorial.csnstatic.com/editors/callum-hunter-author.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Callum Hunter[/author_info] [/author]
