HILUX LEADS RANGER IN THE SALES RACE, BUT EXPECT THAT TO CHANGE

THE long-serving Toyota Hilux has once again outsold the Ford Ranger, with the ’Lux extending its lead on the sales charts in 2022.

It’s hardly a surprising result, though, considering the next-gen Ranger only officially went on sale in mid-july and, as we have extensively detailed, supply is struggling to meet increasing demand, with that unlikely to settle until at least Q4.

A total of 4841 Hilux 4x4 utes were sold in July – 2148 more sales than Ford managed with its Ranger 4x4 (2693 sales). The Toyota Hilux also remained the best-selling overall vehicle in Australia in July, with a total of 6441 units sold when 4x2 and 4x4 units are combined.

Ford shifted 2934 Rangers to new owners, but expect the tables to turn when deliveries start to ramp up for the new Ranger.

The venerable D-max continues to sell consistently, once again rounding out the podium on the 4x4 charts with 1681 units sold in July – edging out the Triton by just 158 sales.

A total of 930 fewer Light Commercial vehicles were sold in July 2022 compared to July 2021, a drop of 4.4 per cent; while a substantial 5259 more Light Commercial vehicles were sold on the year-to-date charts in 2021 compared to 2022.

This is reflected in total 4x4 ute sales for 2022, which is down 4.7 per cent (5587 units) compared to the same time last year. This is despite a slight increase (0.4 per cent) in overall vehicle sales in Australia for the month of July 2022 compared to the same month last year.

“Vehicle and component manufacturing operations remain affected by plant shutdowns caused by COVID-19. Logistics, including shipping, remain unpredictable,” said Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive Tony Weber.

“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,” he said.