Toyota HiLux could lose sales crown to Ford Ranger
Low supplies of HiLux won’t improve until December, threatening its spot as Australia’s top modelThe ‘unbreakable’ Toyota HiLux ute’s run as Australia’s top-selling vehicle for the past five years could come to a screeching halt after the car-maker announced further delays at its Thai factories.
As previously reported, stock levels of key Toyota HiLux models like the SR5 have been running dry over recent months in Australia, forcing delivery times for vehicle orders to blow out into 2022.
The company said earlier this month that it expected HiLux supply “to be recovered in the foreseeable months going forward” – and that it would fight hard to ensure HiLux remained the number-one-selling model in Australia.
However, Toyota has now issued an update that confirms “production of HiLux and Fortuner in Thailand will be impacted during November”.
It added that “supply is expected to improve substantially in December”, so count on the market-leading Japanese brand pulling out all stops to deliver as many examples of HiLux as possible to prevent the Ford Ranger from stealing its long-held crown.
Just how many cars land in Australia during December and are transported to dealerships is anyone’s guess at this stage.
HiLux is still ahead in the sales race, but Ranger is breathing down its neck. To the end of September, just over 3000 sales separated the two utes – 40,791 units versus 37,551.
Toyota has also provided an update on supplies of its new Japanese-built Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series and RAV4 Hybrid (see separate story), both of which have also been hit by delays due to COVID-19 and the global semi-conductor shortage.
And the company has again apologised to customers for the ongoing delays.
“As the availability of supply is an evolving situation around the world, we are continuing to work closely with our global production team to secure the maximum possible number of vehicles for our customers,” said Toyota Australia’s sales and marketing chief Sean Hanley.
“We apologise to customers experiencing delays and we sincerely thank them for their patience.
“We ask our customers to please contact their local dealer for updates on the status of their individual orders.”
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