An enormous sales month for the Toyota HiLux in May saw the popular ute double its lead over the Nissan Navara in the pick-up/cab-chassis segment for 2012.
May was a record-breaking month for the popular HiLux. It was the best-selling vehicle in Australia for the second-consecutive month – the first time it has ever gone back-to-back on top of the monthly charts.
The 4×4 variants accounted for 76.5 per cent of all HiLux sales, posting an all-time record 3539 sales. That figure made the HiLux 4×4 on its own the top-selling vehicle in the country in May – another first for the nameplate – ahead of the second-placed Mazda3 small car (3288).
The dominant May result was another sign of the HiLux returning to full strength after the effects of last year’s Thailand floods, which limited supply to Australia late last year and early in 2012. More than 30 per cent of total HiLux sales for the year came in May.
The Navara stretched its lead over the third-placed Mitsubishi Triton in May, and became the sixth-highest-selling vehicle across all segments in the process with 2436 sales.
The Australian-designed Ford Ranger is beginning to show signs of recovery after the Thailand floods, recording 1611 sales in May. Supply constraints have seen Ranger sales fall more than 20 per cent so far this year. In contrast, its mechanical cousin, the Mazda BT-50, topped 1000 sales in May, and is up 16.1 per cent so far this year compared with 2011.
Sales of Great Wall utes have almost doubled this year on the back of the introduction of the V200 diesel model, while the Toyota LandCruiser PU/CC is among the fastest growing utes in the country, up 34.3 per cent in 2012.
Both the Holden Commodore-based Utility and the Ford Falcon Ute have endured double-digit percentage losses so far this year, following the declines of their sedan and wagon siblings.
While just outside the top 10, the Volkswagen Amarok is making up big ground, particularly in the 4×4 segment. Amarok sales have risen 591.5 per cent year-to-date, totalling 2230 units.
Read our separate story on May 2012 car sales to see the winners and losers for the month.
Top 10 Best-selling Utes – May 2012
- Toyota HiLux – 4626
- Nissan Navara – 2436
- Mitsubishi Triton – 1845
- Ford Ranger – 1611
- Mazda BT-50 – 1057
- Toyota LandCruiser PU/CC – 821
- Holden Utility – 817
- Great Wall V200/V240 – 745
- Isuzu D-Max – 727
- Ford Falcon Ute – 584
Top 10 Best-selling Utes – 2012 to date
- Toyota HiLux – 15,104 (–2.3 per cent)
- Nissan Navara – 10,146 (+1.5 per cent)
- Mitsubishi Triton – 7500 (–1.8 per cent)
- Ford Ranger – 5245 (–20.9 per cent)
- Mazda BT-50 – 4734 (+16.1 per cent)
- Toyota LandCruiser PU/CC – 3578 (+34.3 per cent)
- Great Wall V200/V240 – 3441 (+92.4 per cent)
- Holden Utility – 3211 (–13.2 per cent)
- Isuzu D-Max – 2754 (+6.4 per cent)
- Ford Falcon Ute – 2338 (–11.4 per cent)