VFACTS March 2022: Hilux remains best-selling 4x4

The Toyota Hilux remains Australia's best-selling 4x4, with a record-breaking 4911 sales of 4x4 variants registered in March 2022.

That's a whopping 1465 units more than the Mitsubishi Triton in second place, which registered 3446 sales of 4x4 variants.

Ford continues to sell run-out models of its soon-to-be past-gen Ranger, which is indicative of why the Blue Oval ute has slid down the rankings this year. We'll get a better indication of where the hugely popular vehicle sits in the rankings once the next-gen Ranger lobs later this year.

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Still, the ute remains the best-selling vehicle in Australia, and the 4x4 ute segment has held firm despite dwindling sales across other market segments.

A total of 48,241 4x4 utes have been sold so far in 2022, which is up from 45,036 sales at the same time in 2021 - a year-to-date increase of 7.1 per cent.

Light Commercial Vehicle sales have also increased (+6.8 per cent) in 2022 compared to 2021. For comparison's sake, Passenger (-9.7) and SUV (-0.3) sales are both down.

The Nissan Patrol keeps setting new benchmarks, with 918 sales recorded in March - it once again outsold the LandCruiser 300 Series (844 sales). Pajero Sport sales also skyrocketed, with Mitsubishi shifting 1669 units - a monthly growth of 88.4 per cent. It also scraped into the Top 10 on the year-to-date 4x4 sales chart, with 2236 units finding new homes so far.

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These sales figures aren't a true reflection of demand though, rather an indication of availability and stock shortages, as FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber explained.

“This is historically a unique time in which supply rather than demand is determining the size of the market. This is due to manufacturers recovering from the pandemic-related shutdowns and the ongoing global shortage of micro processing units.

“Consumer inquiries and demand for new cars remains strong. Manufacturers are working hard to match this demand with supply,” Weber said.

4x4 sales: March 2022

4x4 sales: Year to date