March sales: Three utes in overall top five

Three of the top-five selling vehicles in Australia, over the course of a record-setting March, were utes.

Furthermore, light commercial vehicles attained a mammoth 21 per cent share of the total market, compared to SUVs (39.4) and passenger cars (37).

As has become increasingly familiar, the Toyota HiLux was the overall number one with 4245 sales, ahead of the Ford Ranger in second (3845) and Mitsubishi Triton (2670), with the Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3 finishing third and fourth.

However, Ford will be satisfied with knowing that it remains the leader in the more profitable 4×4 ute sector with 3304 sales compared to 3115 for the HiLux. The Toyota more than doubled the Ford’s 4×2 sales (1130 versus 541).

In the case of both the Ranger and HiLux, a significant proportion (more than 50 per cent) of the 4×4 sales are high-end XLT/Wildtrak and SR5 models, which retail for $55,000 and above.

Next were the Holden Colorado on 1927, Nissan Navara on 1784, Isuzu D-Max on 1424, Mazda BT-50 on 1331, Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series on 817, Volkswagen Amarok on 760 and Holden Ute on 300.

Minnows include the Foton Tunland on 46, Great Wall Steed on 48, RAM 2500 and 3500 on 40 and the axed Nissan Patrol on 25.

On an annual basis, light commercials are only up 1.3 per cent to 52,446 units, though the total market has declined about 2 per cent. YTD sales of the HiLux are 10,333 (number one overall) compared to 9398 for the Ranger (fourth). The Ranger is ahead in 4×4, however.

As a result of the ute boom, Thailand (where all the main utes bar the Amarok are made) is also ensconced as our number-two vehicle trading partner after Japan, with 67,581 sold units this year coming from the south-east Asian nation.

 

MARCH TOP 20 MODELS	SALES
Toyota HiLux	4245
Ford Ranger	3845
Toyota Corolla	3574
Mazda 3	3039
Mitsubishi Triton	2670
Hyundai i30	2383
Toyota Camry	2336
Hyundai Tucson	2156
Mazda CX-5	2116
Holden Commodore	2081
Holden Colorado	1927
Toyota RAV4	1865
Nissan Navara	1784
Nissan X-Trail	1780
Kia Cerato	1769
Mitsubishi Outlander	1609
Mazda CX-3	1601
Hyundai Accent	1529
Volkswagen Golf	1504
Isuzu D-Max	1424

MORE: VFACTS car sales news stories 

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