HILUX STILL TOP SELLING 4X4

FOLLOWING a relatively strong month of 4x4 sales in January, the results for February indicate the resurgence of new-car sales is continuing. Once again the Hilux was the best-selling 4x4 – in fact, it was the best-selling overall vehicle when you combine 4x4 and 4x2 sales. The Hilux 4x4’s strong start to the year sees it lead perennial rival, the Ford Ranger, by more than 1400 sales. Not that the Ranger is struggling, with the blue-oval ute sitting in second place on the overall charts (with 4x2 and 4x4 sales combined).

The Triton continues to play third fiddle to the Ranger and Hilux, slotting on to the podium with 1560 sales of its 4x4 variants for the month. Further down the list Isuzu’s MU-X overtook the VW Amarok to reside in the top 10 on the 4x4 charts – and with a new model imminent, expect the MU-X to continue its charge.

Overall, a total of 83,977 new vehicles were sold in Australia in February 2021 – a 5.1 per cent growth compared to February 2020 (79,940 sales were recorded).

Most interesting however, is the dramatic increase in light commercial vehicle sales, up 24.3 per cent for the month compared to the same time last year. This is reflected in the decline of passenger car sales, which fell 15.3 per cent.

All states except Victoria posted an increase of sales for the month. Tony Weber, FCAI chief executive said this can be attributed to the COVID-19 restrictions that were enforced during the month for Victorians.

“During the past four months we have seen an increase of 10.6 per cent in new vehicles and this has been reflected with strong growth in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory in February 2021. The sales reduction in Victoria can be attributed to the COVID-19 restrictions that were put in place during the month.

“We remain confident that this trend of growth will continue in an environment where business operating conditions continue to normalise.”