April 2017 new vehicle sales figures have been released, showing an increasing dominance in ute sales, and a list of pretty clear winners and losers. It’s interesting to note here that although overall sales of new vehicles in Australia have slowed 2.8% for the year and 5.1% for the month, SUV and 4X4 sales are bucking the trend with growth. 4X4 ute sales have jumped 5.2% so far this year, and SUV sales are up 1.7%.
Ford has finally had the chance to assert some dominance over the long-reigning Toyota HiLux, with 10,730 Ranger sales for the year so far. The HiLux has racked up 10,066, with no other model getting close to breaking 5 figures. Mitsubishi’s value-laden Triton comes 3rd in utes (and overall 4X4 sales), with 6,189.
The improvements that Holden made to their Colorado ute is starting to pay dividends as well, with a 19% jump in sales compared to this time last year. Now, they are shifting 5,724 models.
Toyota’s LandCruiser Prado continues to sell in big, solid numbers, with 5,067 units being sold so far in 2017. Competition for it is far away, with Jeep’s updated Grand Cherokee sitting at 1,559 for the year, and Ford’s Everest racking up 1,198.
Mitsubishi will also be impressed with their Pajero Sport, which has marked down it’s dominance in the ute-based-wagon segment. It has racked up 2,751 sales, which beats out the much-improved Trailblazer (982) and just-updated Isuzu MU-X 1,956, whose sales should bounce back after a solid update.
Who’s not going so well? Toyota’s FJ Cruiser is getting phased out, with only 9 sales in April for a total of 91 in 2017. Toyota’s HiLux-based Fortuner is feeling the burn of new and improved competition, with only 607 selling so far this year. That’s a 56% drop for the year. The Jeep Wrangler is also getting hurt, with a 27% drop so far in 2017, to 328 units. And the little Suzuki Jimny has dropped down 83%, because of it’s problem with Australian Standards.
Make | Model | April Sales | 2017 Sales | Segment share | Variance |
Ford | Ranger | 2,708 | 10,730 | 22.20% | 17.00% |
Toyota | Hilux | 2,607 | 10,066 | 20.80% | 7.50% |
Mitsubishi | Triton | 1,114 | 6,189 | 12.80% | -1.90% |
Holden | Colorado | 1,622 | 5,724 | 11.80% | 18.90% |
Toyota | Prado | 1,301 | 5,067 | 13.40% | 0.40% |
Nissan | Navara | 1,103 | 4,245 | 8.80% | -3.60% |
Toyota | Landcruiser | 1,032 | 3,883 | 90.60% | 10.80% |
Isuzu | D-Max | 921 | 3,142 | 6.50% | -8.60% |
Mazda | BT-50 | 617 | 2,929 | 6.10% | -4.20% |
Mitsubishi | Pajero Sport | 593 | 2,751 | 7.30% | 90.40% |
Volkswagen | Amarok | 500 | 2,524 | 5.20% | -8.80% |
Toyota | Landcruiser Ute | 597 | 2,403 | 5.00% | 10.20% |
Isuzu | MU-X | 419 | 1,956 | 5.20% | -13.10% |
Jeep | Grand Cherokee | 430 | 1,559 | 4.10% | -42.30% |
Mitsubishi | Pajero | 181 | 1,393 | 3.70% | -7.40% |
Ford | Everest | 310 | 1,198 | 3.20% | -2.90% |
Range Rover | Sport | 127 | 1,162 | 16.90% | 11.70% |
Holden | Trailblazer | 227 | 982 | 2.60% | – |
Toyota | Fortuner | 135 | 607 | 1.60% | -56.50% |
Jeep | Cherokee | 100 | 433 | 0.90% | -33.60% |
Nissan | Patrol | 48 | 402 | 9.40% | -24.20% |
Jeep | Wrangler | 70 | 328 | 0.90% | -26.90% |
Suzuki | Grand Vitara | 41 | 232 | 0.50% | -61.00% |
Land Rover | Discovery | 6 | 215 | 3.10% | -78.30% |
Foton | Tunland | 32 | 181 | 0.40% | -22.60% |
Land Rover | Range Rover | 27 | 167 | 23.30% | 0.00% |
Lexus | LX | 29 | 129 | 18.00% | 57.30% |
RAM | Laramie | 30 | 102 | 0.20% | 22.90% |
Toyota | FJ Cruiser | 9 | 91 | 0.20% | -77.80% |
Nissan | Patrol | 6 | 88 | 0.20% | 12.80% |
Great Wall | Steed | 20 | 70 | 0.10% | – |
Suzuki | Jimny | 22 | 60 | 0.20% | -83.60% |
Mercedes-Benz | G-Class | 14 | 45 | 6.30% | 28.60% |
Infiniti | QX80 | 5 | 25 | 3.50% | 56.30% |
Haval | H9 | 4 | 14 | 0.00% | – |
Bentley | Bentayga | 1 | 14 | 2.00% | – |
Mercedes-Benz | G-Wagon | 5 | 10 | 0.00% | -79.60% |
Holden | Colorado 7 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% | -99.90% |