4X4 sales are having a good year in 2013, with the last VFACTS figures pushing total amounts over last year’s.
By August 2013, there had been 223,622 new ‘SUV’s sold in Australia. This is a solid increase on last years figure of 204,217 at the same time, representing a 9.5% growth.
Mitubishi’s Pajero had a strong august, registering an 81.5% growth in sales. This pushed their annual sales out of the black, and into positive territory for the year to date. The Jeep Grand Cherokee also had a strong year, posting a 92.3%, pushing their year to date figures up by almost half.
4X4 utilities are also looking at posting a bumper year, with sales jumping from 128,595 last year to 137,301, year to date.
Toyota continues with the lion’s share of new 4X4 sales in Australia, accounting for 17.8% of SUV and 26.6% of light commercial sales (that includes 4X4 utilities, amongst others).
Sales of the long-dominant Hilux is slipping, however, owing to strong competition from other carmakers in the highly competitive marketplace. Sales slipped -29.8% in the month to date, whilst competitors like the Ford Ranger (14.0%) and Mazda BT-50 (24.5%) posted solid gains for the month. In the year to date, the Mitsubishi Triton (58.1%), Volkswagen Amarok (28.2%) and the Holden Colorado (78.6%) have all made impressive headway over last year. Although sales of the Pickup/Cab Chassis segment was down for the month, year to date figures are still up by 15%.
