The 4X4 market showed a big improvement in October 2020 with Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Toyota Prado leading the way…
October 2020 was a big month for the new 4X4 market in Australia with sales rebounding after the previous few months of COVID-19-inflicted sales pain.
The overall new-car market picked up significantly in October 2020 and, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), a total of 81,220 new-vehicle sales were recorded for the month, which was down just 1236 units (1.5 per cent) on October 2019.
The best-selling 4X4 for the month was once again the Ford Ranger, which recorded 3808 sales for the month, up 354 sales on the previous month.
The new Toyota HiLux also performed strongly with 3406 sales in October 2020, with the Toyota Prado in third with 2207 sales for the month.
In the 4X4 ute segment, the new Isuzu D-MAX sold well and moved into third place for the month with 1330 sales, ahead of Nissan Navara (923 sales) and Mitsubishi Triton (823 sales). In year-to-date terms, however, Triton is still firmly in third place with 12,974 sales for the first 10 months of the year, behind Ford Ranger on 30,185 sales and Toyota HiLux on 26,459 sales.
Reflecting on October 2020’s promising new-vehicle sales results, Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI said, “After a very challenging year, we are seeing ‘green shoots’ in the Australian new vehicle market. Every state and territory except Victoria and Tasmania have seen significant growth and, given the circumstances, Victoria’s result is seen as encouraging.”
“Nationally, the state of industry operations is returning to normal as COVID-19 restrictions ease. Additionally, Government initiatives such as a constructive budget that included the instant asset write off, along with more accessible finance for consumers, is also acting as a welcome stimulus for the industry,” an upbeat Mr Weber said.
For the record, the top five selling nameplates in October 2020 – out of the whole new car market (2X4 and 4X4) – were the Toyota HiLux (444 sales), Ford Ranger (4217 sales), Toyota RAV4 (4084 sales), Toyota LandCruiser (2429 sales) and Toyota Prado (2207 sales).
