VFACTs May 2023: Hilux leads the way

The 4x4 market kept pace with the broader Australian market in May, with the nation achieving a record calendar month with good signs pointing to improving supply.

While Rangers lead the way through April, Toyota's HiLux outpaced them with a strong showing from 4775 new registrations. That's exactly 1111 more HiLuxes let loose across the country than Ford's popular Ranger, which logged 3664 new registrations in May.

When combining 4x4 and 4x2 YTD figures, however, the annual sales race is still neck and neck, and a strong month from either rival could be the one that turns the tide. Year-to-date, it's the old, faithful, HiLux that currently leads the top spot, with 21,951 new HiLuxes on the road this year, against Ford's 21,407 new Rangers.

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Elsewhere in the Top 10 4x4 sector, familiar faces populate the list, but the hierarchy has rearranged due to robust performances by certain models.

New registrations of Toyota's Prado (1435) more than doubled through the month of May compared to what was observed in April (762), while Mazda's ageing BT-50 continues to trickle along healthily, delivering over 300 further units than the previous month, and maintaining its fifth place position.

Isuzu's pair, the D-Max ute and MU-X wagons, continue to make steady progress, registering (combined 4x2 and 4x4) 2371, and 1110 new units, respectively.

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Despite Mitsubishi Triton and Everest remaining unchanged in the pecking order, both models made big month-on-month gains in new registrations, with Triton deliveries through May improving by 41 per cent, while Ford's Everest bettered April's effort by almost 20 per cent.

Within the American heavyweight sector, RAM continues to supply its 1500 (696 in May) in greater numbers than Chevrolet's Silverado (230), with the RAM 1500 comfortably leading the sales race, with 2705 vehicles delivered YTD, against Chevrolet's 748 Silverados delivered in 2023 so far.

Top 10 best-selling 4x4s in Australia: May 2023

Total 4x4 sales nationally enjoyed a market-wide surge in registrations for May, with the PU/CC 4x4 segment growing by 41.3 per cent month-on-month from 12,197 in April 2023, to 17,244 registrations through May 2023.

When compared against the broader Australian market for May, the PU/CC 4x4 segment proportionally outgrew the wider market for May, with total national registrations growing by 28 per cent, against April 2023's national figure.

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Despite a month of strong new deliveries, the PU/CC 4x4 segment remains slightly down in its YTD figures, with 73,928 4x4s delivered in 2023 so far, compared with 76,871 achieved throughout the same period of 2022.

Toyota wins the best-selling award for the month of May, registering 18,340 new vehicles across the nation, ahead of Mazda (8475), Hyundai (7078), Kia (7000), and Ford (6251).

Top 10 best-selling 4x4s in Australia: year-to-date