VFACTS September: Ford Ranger outsells Toyota HiLux again

Toyota has vowed to “fight hard” to ensure the Toyota HiLux remains the number-one selling model in Australia as the Ford Ranger topped the charts in September for the third time this year and is now threatening to take line honours for 2021.

The Australian-developed Ranger racked up 4192 sales last month to be more than 550 units clear of the Toyota HiLux on 3635, and on a year-to-date basis the Blue Oval brand’s lynchpin model sits just under 3300 units behind Toyota’s dominant player with 37,551 utes sold.

While the Japanese brand maintains a stranglehold on the marketplace overall with a 21.7 per cent share – 24.1 per cent in September alone with six of the top 10 models – crippling supply shortages overseas are expected to peg it back during the fourth quarter.

As well as HiLux, key model lines including the Toyota RAV4 and all-new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series are being severely hit, with new orders of the LC300 not expected to be filled until the second half of 2022.

Asked whether production shortfalls could see HiLux lose the coveted number-one position, Toyota Australia’s sales and marketing chief Sean Hanley told carsales today: “I’m no more or less concerned about HiLux than any other car in the Toyota range.

“Ultimately, the market determines leadership or not leadership – I believe HiLux is a great product, particularly the Rugged X and Rogue.

“I’m confident, but having said that it’s a super-competitive market. We deeply respect our competitors and will continue to fight hard to keep HiLux at number one.

“Ultimately the market will determine that.”

Hanley also said the company expects its supply situation “to be recovered in the foreseeable months going forward” – but customers and its dealers will not be updated about delivery times until the end of October.

With Ranger outgunning HiLux last month for only the fifth time in its history, Ford’s overall tally of 5759 sales was enough to place it ahead of both Hyundai (5457) and Kia (5155) for third position overall behind Toyota (20,216) and Mazda (6555) – and for the year to date as well.

Mazda is rock-solid in second, but the battle being waged for third position will continue throughout the final three months of trading as Ford aims to consolidate and Hyundai and Kia scramble for sales traction.

Stock shortages will determine the outcome as demand from buyers outstrips supply and volume-selling new models are launched, including the new-generation Kia Sportage – supplies for which are looking good.

Kia is sitting just 853 units behind Hyundai to the end of September – 53,316 versus 54,169 – with Ford only 100 units further afield on 54,269.

There’s also plenty of action among the other leading brands. Mitsubishi has momentum on its side and there’s less than 4000 units separating Volkswagen in seventh and Isuzu UTE in 11th for the year thus far.

Nissan fell outside the top 10 in September for the second month in succession with 2817 sales, despite recording its best-ever month of Y62 Nissan Patrol sales (700).

Isuzu UTE (3130) climbed to eighth position for the month, nestling behind Volkswagen (3791) after surging past Nissan, MG (3010) and Subaru (3062).

It’s an impressive result for a brand with only two models in its stable. The new Isuzu MU-X made an immediate impact with 1297 sales, while the D-MAX was seventh top-selling model in the marketplace with 1833 units.

Honda recorded 926 sales for the third-straight difficult month under its controversial move to an ‘agency’ business operation.

However, the former top-10 brand is expecting to recover to an albeit historically low monthly sales volume of 1650 units from November, so its performance this month will be telling.

Across the industry as a whole, 83,312 new vehicles were sold in September, which marks a 20.8 per cent improvement over the corresponding COVID-crippled month last year.

More instructively, the result is 5.5 per cent ahead of September 2019, when the market was battling less severe disruptions.

Year-to-date, the industry is running lineball with 2019 – up just 0.6 per cent.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) is continuing to paint a positive picture amid the stock shortages and continuing lockdowns, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria.

“To see an increase of 21 per cent on 2020 figures is definitely encouraging news,” said FCAI chief executive Tony Weber.

“For many manufacturers it is bittersweet with the knowledge of what could have been achieved in a normal trading environment.

“These are challenging times, but automotive manufacturers are rising to meet them. Brands are working across their supply chains to deal with micro-processor issues and consumers are embracing online purchasing through click-and-collect delivery options.

“In many respects these figures give the industry great encouragement and excitement for what will be possible in 2022 when lockdowns will hopefully be a thing of the past.”

Mercedes-Benz Cars maintained its position as the market-leading premium brand with 2104 sales in September, compared to BMW on 1465 and Audi on 1124.

At the rarefied end of the market, there were 21 Bentley cars delivered, along with 19 Ferrari and six McLaren supercars. 

Electric cars? There were 466 EV sales last month among all brands other than the dominant Tesla (which does not report its figures), compared to 301 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and 6959 regular hybrids.

Top 10 models (September 2021):
Ford Ranger – 4192
Toyota HiLux – 3635
Toyota Corolla – 3487
Toyota RAV4 – 3390
Toyota Prado – 2173
Hyundai i30 – 2034
Isuzu D-MAX – 1833
Toyota Camry – 1610
Toyota LandCruiser – 1541
Mitsubishi ASX – 1489

Top 10 brands (2021 year to date):
Toyota – 176,771
Mazda – 83,565
Ford – 54,269
Hyundai – 54,169
Kia – 53,313
Mitsubishi – 52,152
Volkswagen – 32,315
Nissan – 31,652
MG – 28,878
Subaru – 28,763