The continuing dominance of the Toyota Hilux and Corolla in 2016 and a record year for Lexus has seen Australia become the second biggest market per capita for the global automotive giant, after Japan.

The local market is also the seventh overall, ahead of bigger markets such as Canada, Brazil, the UK and every nation in Europe, according to figures released by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC).

Toyota Australia sold 218,738 vehicles last year ‑ including 9027 Lexus ‑ which equates to 8.9 cars per 1000 people, behind Japan (12.5 per 1000) but ahead of the USA (7.5) which is the company’s biggest market.

2017-Lexus -LS-500

“The incredible loyalty shown by Australian motorists over more than half a century has enabled us to achieve a dominant share of the local market and to be placed among the strongest sales countries in the Toyota world,” Mr Cramb said.

“The proportion of Australians who buy Toyota vehicles is higher than in the United States and we outsell countries that have substantially larger population bases,” he said.

2017-Toyota -CH-R

The end of local Camry production is also unlikely end Toyota’s 14-year reign as Australia’s top manufacturer, with 100,000 more sales than nearest rival Mazda (118,217) in 2016.

Top-10 Toyota sales by country, 2016

  1. USA – 2,449,628
  2. Japan – 1,580,851
  3. China – 1,214,163
  4. Indonesia – 389,341
  5. Thailand – 245,087
  6. Saudi Arabia – 228,049
  7. Australia – 218,738
  8. Canada – 217,792
  9. Brazil – 179,441
  10. Philippines – 158,728
Top-10 Toyota sales per 1000 people, 2016
  1. Japan – 12.5
  2. Australia – 8.9
  3. USA – 7.5
  4. Saudi Arabia – 7.0
  5. Canada – 5.9
  6. Thailand – 3.6
  7. Philippines – 1.5
  8. Indonesia – 1.5
  9. China – 0.9
  10. Brazil – 0.9