Strong 4x4 sales in January led by the Hilux

AUSTRALIAN new car sales kicked off the New Year where it left 2020, with signs of a strong recovery for the sales market.

A total of 79,566 new vehicles were sold, which is up from January 2020 when 71,731 cars and trucks found new homes.

Also maintaining its late 2020 charge was the Toyota Hilux, which was the best-selling vehicle overall in January as well as the top-selling 4x4 vehicle.

The Hilux’s 3090 4x4 sales trumped its main rival the Ford Ranger by more than 200 units, to kick off what again should be a closely contested race.

It was the usual players filling out the remaining top 10 spots on the 4x4 charts, with the Isuzu D-MAX maintaining its strong performances from last year and the Nissan Navara continuing to slide down the rankings. With the face-lifted Navara due to land in March, you can bet Nissan Australia is eagerly awaiting its arrival.

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While the Toyota LandCruiser and Prado are the only 4x4 wagons to consistently make it into the top 10 monthly rankings, the midsize wagons have a battle of their own.

Isuzu’s MU-X is the most popular and occasionally pops its nose in the 10 throughout the year, and it narrowly missed out in January with 541 sales putting it in 11th place. A new MU-X will be dropping some time in 2020 and should prop up its sale numbers.

Others in the segment include the Ford Everest (532 sales in January 2021), Toyota Fortuner (181), Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (190) and Pajero proper (188). Of course, the Pajero is no longer made and imported, so what’s left of them in dealers now will unfortunately be the last of them.

The only other large 4x4 wagon is the Nissan Patrol and it sold 241 units for the month. It will be interesting to watch its sales against the LandCruiser if and when a new Cruiser lobs this year as expected and in what form it takes.

At the other end of the size spectrum, the Suzuki Jimny is the only compact 4x4 available and its sales have been hampered by supply limits. Still, the rugged box managed to move 266 units to start the year.

TOTAL 4X4 SALES IN JANUARY 2021

1. Toyota Hilux: 3090
2. Ford Ranger: 2802
3. Mitsubishi Triton: 1723
4. Toyota LandCruiser 200: 1499
5. Isuzu D-MAX: 1416
6. Toyota Prado: 1359
7. Mazda BT-50: 891
8. Toyota LandCruiser 79: 889
9. Nissan Navara: 830
10. Volkswagen Amarok: 546
11. Isuzu MU-X: 541