Utes dominate the June sales charts
HiLux, Ranger and Triton top the list, pickups nudge 20 per cent market share
Australia’s three most popular new vehicles in June - perennially the biggest sales month of the year - were all pickups/utes.
Clearly there were a lot of buyers taking advantage of end of financial year deals and incentives, and perhaps capitalising on certain tax breaks (such as fringe-benefit claims).
Top of the pops was the Toyota HiLux with 5787 units, ahead of the Ford Ranger on 4768. However, in the lucrative 4x4 ute sales race it was the Ford on top, 4236 versus 4032.
The other strong contender was the always-cheap Mitsubishi Triton, and credit goes to its maker for offering such bargains. Its 3919 June sales is just reward, given that’s more than even the Toyota Corolla managed (fourth overall with 3780).
The related Holden Colorado and Isuzu D-Max were close in fourth and fifth in-segment respectively, with the former winning in 4x4 sales and the latter in 4x2s.
You'd have to say the sales of Nissan's Navara (1621) and Mazda BT-50 (1426) were modest given both just had quite worthy updates.
The Volkswagen Amarok managed a record 1250 sales, all bar 8 being 4x4s, while the Toyota LandCruiser 70-Series managed a staggering 1199 sales.
Next were two 'bookends' of the segment, in the China-made LDV T60 on 295 sales (all 4x4) and the premium Mercedes-Benz X-Class on 226.
It's not just the sales that are interesting, it's the model mix. Make no mistake, these aren't selling because they're cheap.
We know that the most popular HiLux and Ranger variants are the $50k-plus XLT and SR5 models, while 70 per cent of Amaroks were the expensive V6 flagships.
The vast majority of Navaras are ST and ST-X versions, and you're not getting a 70-Series LandCruiser ute for less than $70,000.
Overall, 4x2 and 4x4 utes had a combined market share of 19.4 per cent in June, more than any other vehicle type (medium SUVs were next on 18.1). Almost one-in-five new vehicle sold was a ute of some sort.
Model
| 4x2 sales
| 4x4 sales
| Total sales
|
Toyota HiLux
| 1755
| 4032
| 5787
|
Ford Ranger
| 532
| 4236
| 4768
|
Mitsubishi Triton
| 305
| 3614
| 3919
|
Holden Colorado
| 251
| 2221
| 2472
|
Isuzu D-Max
| 607
| 1616
| 2223
|
Nissan Navara
| 348
| 1273
| 1621
|
Mazda BT-50
| 452
| 974
| 1426
|
Volkswagen Amarok
| 8
| 1242
| 1250
|
Toyota LandCruiser 70
| 0
| 1199
| 1199
|
LDV T60
| 0
| 295
| 295
|
Mercedes X-Class
| 8
| 218
| 226
|
Great Wall Steed
| 46
| 75
| 121
|
Holden Ute
| 40
| 0
| 40
|
Mercedes G Professional
| 0
| 22
| 22
|
Ram 2500/3500
| 0
| 20
| 20
|
Want more sales news? Read: VFACTS: June 2018 new vehicle sales