VFACTS August 2024: Toyota on top but Ranger still the best-selling 4x4 in Australia

Toyota Australia is obviously getting on top of the supply issues it was having last year and in the first part of 2024.

Its RAV4 small SUV was the best-selling new car in the country for the second month in a row with 6714 of the little wagons finding new homes in Australia during August. Significantly that is the best monthly sales figure for the RAV4 in its 30 years of history, and almost 95 per cent of them were the hybrid model. It wasn’t that long ago that buyers wanting a hybrid RAV4 were facing waiting lists of a year and longer.

It was a similar story for buyers waiting for an LC300 this time last year; but with 1442 of them sold in August and the LC300 being the fifth best-selling 4x4 so far this year, it seems those orders are getting out.

I bet Toyota wishes it still had buyers queuing up to get HiLux 4x4 utes, as the once-market-leader falls further behind the Ford Ranger with just 3851 Hiluxes moving off the lot in August compared to 5142 Ford Ranger 4x4s. With Ranger leading HiLux 4x4 by more than 7000 units year-to-date with just four months of selling left, it looks like the Ranger will retain its best-selling 4x4 title this year.

Ford is also kicking goals with its Everest wagon, which outsold popular competitors the Toyota Prado, Isuzu MU-X and even the LC300 again this month. In the Prado’s defence, the new 250 Series is due to hit showrooms before 2024 ends and there will be a lot of buyers waiting to see that.

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The Lexus version of the 250 Series, the GX550, started going out to owners at the end of August with 102 of them sold. It will be interesting to see how the new model goes as it’s the first time we’ve had the Lexus GX sold here. The closest competitor to the Lexus GX on price and ability would be the Land Rover Defender, and this reborn nameplate continues to be LR’s best-selling model with 301 of them sold in August, contributing to a total of 2118 sales this year.

At the other end of the 4x4 scale, the Suzuki Jimny has the small wagon segment all to itself and the five-door model of that car is certainly boosting its popularity. Its sales are up a whopping 62 per cent year-on-year and, with 923 of the fun wagons being sold, the Jimny almost made its way into the top 10 sales chart this month. The Jimny has always been the little wagon that could.

Best-selling 4x4s in August 2024

Best-selling 4x4s YTD