VFACTS 2023: Ford Ranger knocks Toyota HiLux off top sales spot

The Ford Ranger was the top-selling new vehicle in Australia for the first time ever last year, according to industry sales figures released today, ending the seven-year reign of the Toyota HiLux.

The Blue Oval brand’s Australian-developed ute racked up a phenomenal 63,356 sales in 2023, placing it 2245 units clear of its arch-rival from the red corner, which managed 61,111 deliveries.

That marked a 33 per cent increase in Ranger sales over 2022, when the changeover to the new-generation model kept it to 47,479 units – well behind HiLux, which produced a record-breaking 64,391 sales that year and basked in the glory of achieving the highest sales tally for a single model from any brand since 2005, when the Aussie-built Holden Commodore reigned supreme.

Now, the tables have turned, and although Ranger fell just short of HiLux’s 2022 result, it, too, can lay claim to an historic high-water mark as Ford has not topped the bestsellers’ list for an achingly long 28 years.

That’s right. We have to go as far back as the EF-series Ford Falcon in 1995 to find a top-selling model from the blue team, when the Australian car manufacturing sector was in full flight and 81,366 examples of the Broadmeadows-built family sedan and wagon rolled out of showrooms against the VR/VS Holden Commodore’s 80,452 units.

Sales of both Ranger and HiLux were impeded last year by production and shipping delays, but Ford Australia said today that the company’s move to charter its own container ship between the factory in Thailand and Australian ports proved decisive.

“With sustained high demand, and to overcome an industry-wide backlog due to port congestion, in 2023 Ford Australia took the extraordinary step of signing an exclusive deal to charter Grand Quest, a ship dedicated to transporting both Ranger and Everest from the factory in Thailand to Australia and New Zealand,” the company said in a celebratory press release.

“This enabled the company to deliver thousands of Rangers to customers across the country.”

Ford Australia president and CEO, Andrew Birkic, also highlighted the role played by the local engineering and design team, and thanked the brand’s dealers and customers for their strong support.

“There are so many people who play a role in the success of a vehicle,” he said.

“For Ranger, that’s our team of designers, engineers and everyone at Ford who pours their passion into making the vehicle what it is, our dealers who are passionate about serving their customers and communities, and ultimately our Ranger customers whose passion for their vehicle is what gets us up in the morning.”

Of course, Toyota was far from disgraced, and while company executives and brand loyalists will be bitterly disappointed at having lost their bragging rights, the HiLux’s result – down five per cent compared to 2022 – was still the ute’s second-highest on record.

Diving into the details, Toyota says HiLux has been the top-selling model – bar none – in the Northern Territory for 23 years in a row, as well as the leader in Queensland and Western Australia for the past 17 and 16 years respectively.

HiLux has also outpaced Ranger in South Australia for the past three years straight, but it was behind in the markets where the numbers are highest – New South Wales and Victoria.

Sales of 4x4 models are where it counts, with Ranger selling 58,261 last year compared to HiLux on 48,995. The Toyota was well ahead in the lower-volume 4x2 market, 12,116 sales compared to Ranger on 5095.

Toyota is confident its supply lines will continue to improve during 2024, and although customer demand is expected to taper off, the battle between HiLux and Ranger will be no less intense as it seeks to regain top billing.

“Increasingly, we are seeing people walking into a Toyota dealership knowing they will be able to take delivery of their new vehicle within a reasonable period of four to six months,” said Toyota Australia vice-president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley.

“That trend will accelerate this year with a stronger allocation of global production destined for Australian customers.

“We are grateful to every customer who has decided to purchase a Toyota from one of our 275 dealership locations around Australia, but we also know the job’s not done yet.

“We assure those who are waiting for delivery that we are doing everything possible to get you into your new Toyota at the earliest opportunity.

“We also want to thank the 61,111 customers who chose HiLux last year. This model has a special legacy with close to 1.3 million sales during its 55-year history in this country – a track record that confirms the ‘unbreakable’ reputation of HiLux and its ongoing appeal in Australia.”

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