Ford Ranger reclaims 4x4 sales' top spot

THE March 2018 VFACTS report has landed, and the Ford Ranger has reclaimed pole position on both the monthly and year-to-date 4x4 sales charts.

Ford shifted 3467 Ranger 4x4 variants in March to notch up 9457 YTD sales, while Toyota sold 3224 Hilux 4x4s for a YTD sales total of 9361.

The Mitsubishi Triton 4x4 yet again rounds out the top three, with 2788 monthly and 5735 YTD sales. There’s then daylight to the rest of the field.

The LCV market as a whole was down 0.4 per cent in March, but sales of ute and cab chassis models were up 3.2 per cent compared to March 2017. The LCV segment represents 19.7 per cent of the total market.

Speaking of the overall market, record sales (106,988) were recorded for the month of March, delivering 4.4 per cent Q1 growth (and 1.5 per cent growth was noted for March 2018 compared to March 2017).

“To have the market at 4.4 per cent ahead of last year’s record total is a clear vote of consumer confidence in the economy’s stability and low interest rates, both key factors which encourage private buyers and businesses into new vehicles,” Tony Weber, the chief executive of the FCAI, said.

The Toyota Hilux – 4x4 and 4x2 variants – remains the best-selling vehicle on the overall monthly sales charts (4348). It’s followed by the Ford Ranger (4064), Toyota Corolla (3218), Mitsubishi Triton (3109) and Mazda3 (2780).