Sales of 4×4 utes continued to boom last month, showing defiant growth in a period of declining overall vehicle sales compared with this time last year.

New car sales data released today shows an 11 percent increase in sales of pick-up and cab-chassis 4×4 utes during September 2016, bucking the trend of slowing sales for the industry as a whole, which is down 2.4 percent year-on-year to 100,200 vehicles.

Australia’s two best-selling vehicles overall were the Ford Ranger (4318) and Toyota Hilux (3822). Diesel engines are by far the most popular in the light commercial market, with a 10.5 percent lift in uptake last month to both private and business customers.

Here’s how the top selling utes stack up overall, and also how each performs when separated into 4×4 and 4×2 variants.

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TOP 5 BEST-SELLING UTES OVERALL

Ford tops not only the best-selling utes table, but the overall new vehicle sales charts for September with its dominant Ranger. Hilux still leads the Ranger for year-to-date sales in 2017 so far, but this intriguing battle between Ford and Toyota will go right down to the wire.

Top 5 utes September 2017

  1. Ford Ranger – 4318
  2. Toyota Hilux – 3822
  3. Mitsubishi Triton – 1732
  4. Isuzu D-Max – 1470
  5. Holden Colorado – 1039
Top 5 utes 2017 (to September)
  1. Toyota Hilux – 35,229
  2. Ford Ranger – 32,620
  3. Mitsubishi Triton – 17,351
  4. Holden Colorado – 14,869
  5. Isuzu D-Max – 12,469
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TOP 5 BEST-SELLING 4×4 UTES

Ford asserted dominance in 4×4 sales to stretch its lead over the Hilux by another 862 units in September and put it 1987 in front year-to-date.

Top 5 4×4 September 2017

  1. Ford Ranger – 3769
  2. Toyota Hilux – 2907
  3. Mitsubishi Triton – 1532
  4. Isuzu D-Max – 1076
  5. Holden Colorado – 910
Top 5 4×4 2017 (to September)
  1. Ford Ranger – 28,026
  2. Toyota Hilux – 26,039
  3. Mitsubishi Triton – 14,827
  4. Holden Colorado – 13,142
  5. Nissan Navara – 9867

BEST SELLING 4×2 UTES

Toyota leads the way in rear-drive ute sales, with the largest volume for September and almost 30 percent market share for its 4×2 Hilux year-to-date putting daylight between it and the Ford Ranger in second.

Top 5 4×2 September 2017

  1. Toyota Hilux – 915
  2. Ford Ranger – 549
  3. Mazda BT-50 – 520
  4. Holden Commodore Ute – 437
  5. Isuzu D-Max – 394
Top 5 4×2 2017 (to September)
  1. Toyota Hilux – 9190
  2. Ford Ranger – 4594
  3. Mazda BT-50 – 4009
  4. Isuzu D-Max – 3394
  5. Holden Commodore Ute – 3062