VFACTS August 2023: Demand for Ranger and HiLux remains strong

The Ford Ranger continues to dominate sales in the 4x4 segment, but it has fallen just short of eclipsing the Toyota HiLux on the overall charts.

The HiLux outsold the Ranger on the overall sales charts (when combining 4x4 and 4x2 variants) by just two sales (5762 versus 5760), reversing the July 2023 result which saw the Ranger on top.

Compare this to August 2022, where a total of 6214 Hiluxes and 4497 Rangers were sold. That's a difference of -7.3 per cent for the HiLux and +28.1 per cent for the Ranger.

Perhaps the upcoming HiLux GR Sport could shift momentum back in Toyota's favour.

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Back to the 4x4 charts and a total of 5381 new Rangers were delivered to customers in August 2023, a healthy 820 more sales than Toyota could muster for its HiLux (4561 total sales). Sitting below the unwavering top two is the ever-consistent Isuzu D-Max, which registered 2628 4x4 sales for the month.

In further good news for the Japanese manufacturer, the Isuzu D-Max was the fourth best-selling vehicle on the overall charts, trailing only the Ranger, HiLux and RAV4.

August was also a good month for the Nissan Patrol, with a total of 1032 sales registered for the burly off-roader.

August was also a good month for the Nissan Patrol, with a total of 1032 sales registered for the burly off-roader - it registered 466 sales in July and 630 in June.

This is reflective of a growing appetite for SUVs, large and small, with the SUV market up by 28.3 per cent (or 13,742 more sales) compared to the same month last year. For comparison’s sake, the passenger vehicle market is down 3.3 per cent, and the LCV market is up by 6.9 per cent.

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Other SUVs in the top 10 this month include the Prado, LandCruiser 300, Everest and MU-X, making it an even 50/50 split between utes and wagons.

Notable absentees from the best-selling 4x4 vehicles in August include the Mitsubishi Triton (917 sales), Nissan Navara (688 sales) and Volkswagen Amarok (553 sales).

The LDV T60 is the most sought-after vehicle at the budget end of the market, with 710 deliveries taking place. The GWM Ute trails with 631 sales, and SsangYong only posted 280 sales of its underrated Musso.

Year-to-date sales for this trio: GWM Ute, 6475; SsangYong Musso, 2584; LDV T60, 5995.

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At the opposite end of the market, Chevrolet shifted a total of 251 Silverados, with RAM besting that with 457 sales of its 1500. A total of 74 deliveries took place for the even bigger 2500, and 10 sales for the bigger again 3500.

Overall new-car sales for the month were up by 15.4 per cent compared to August 2022. In fact, it was the highest August result on record in Australia.

“The Australian automotive sector continues to demonstrate its strength, with August recording unprecedented sales figures, reflecting both a high level of demand from Australians and improved supply of vehicles,” said FCAI chief executive, Tony Weber.

“Year-to-date sales have increased 9.9 per cent, which is a better indicator of the underlying strength of the market,” he added.

Top-selling 4x4s in August 2023

Top-selling 4x4 models YTD 2023