VFACTs October 2024: Ford Ranger 4x4 on the verge of 50,000 year-to-date sales

The Ford Ranger 4x4 is on the verge of passing 50,000 year-to-date sales in 2024, and its closest competitor, the Toyota HiLux, also reached a significant milestone in October.

Ford ended the month with a total of 49,028 YTD sales registered for its Ranger 4x4, which is a 9.2 per cent improvement compared to the same time last year (44,902 sales). The HiLux 4x4 surpassed 40,000 YTD sales in October, which is an impressive feat for a vehicle essentially at the end of its lifecycle.

As always, the Isuzu D-MAX 4x4 was the third best-selling 4x4 ute on both the October and YTD charts. The D-MAX ended October with 1884 monthly sales and 20,233 YTD sales.

The Everest once again gave the Blue Oval a one-two punch, with the big SUV remaining the best-selling 4x4 wagon in Australia. It ended October with 2668 total sales, placing it ahead of Isuzu MU-X (1356) and 300 Series LandCruiser (1190). Proving Australia’s love affair with the Nissan Patrol still exists, is the V8 wagon’s re-emergence on the Top 10 charts, with Nissan shifting 813 units in October – a 10.9 per cent increase compared to this time last year.

Both the Volkswagen Amarok and Nissan Navara slipped out of the 4x4 charts in October, registering just 626 and 620 sales respectively.

GWM’s Ute remained the best-selling budget option in October (586 sales), ahead of the LDV T60 (530) and SsangYong Musso (231). The GWM Cannon Alpha Ultra Hybrid registered 174 sales on debut. The Chevrolet Silverado (including HD model; 331 sales) outsold both the RAM 1500 (258) and Ford F-150 (247).

The Ford Ranger may be dominating the 4x4 market, but Toyota has a stranglehold on total new car sales, registering 18,471 in October 2024. Ford was next best with 8581 sales, followed by Mazda (7656), Hyundai (7086) and Kia (6602). The RAV4 was once again the best-selling vehicle in Australia (4841 sales), followed by the Ranger 4x2/4x4 (4757), HiLux 4x2/4x4 (4523), and D-MAX 4x2/4x4 (2295).

Monthly sales declined in both the SUV and LCV segments – compared to October 2023 – down 5.2 per cent and 13.7 per cent respectively. Plus, new car sales in the PU/CC 4x4 segment dropped by a significant 19.3 per cent. And despite new car sales exceeding one million YTD in October, overall sales have declined 7.9 per cent compared to October 2023.

“While not at the record levels of 2023, the October result is solid,” said Tony Weber, FCAI Chief Executive. “However, we remain concerned about the continuing performance of the private buyers segment which was down 14.2 per cent this month following a reduction of 17.2 per cent in September. This does indicate that economic pressures are a concern for families across the country.”

Also of significance is the introduction of plug-in hybrids (PHEV) in the 4x4 segment. It’s a segment to watch with interest, with order books opening for the BYD Shark at the end of October; and the Ford Ranger PHEV coming in 2025.

“We are now witnessing the introduction of new plug-in hybrid models in the SUV and Light Commercial segments which have previously been dominated by petrol and diesel models,” Weber said. “This is significant given the overwhelming popularity of SUVs and Light Commercial vehicles in Australia.”