The Ford Ranger was officially the best-selling new 4X4 in the country in 2020 racking up 37,889 sales for the year.
With 37,889 sales in 2020, the Ford Ranger was officially the best-selling 4X4 in the country in 2020 according to the federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) VFACTS service.
The Ranger managed to stay ahead of the pack in the 2020 sales race despite a strong finish from the Toyota HiLux 4X4, which recorded an astonishing 4453 sales in December 2020 compared with Ranger’s 3875 sales for the month. The HiLux 4X4 finished on 34,766 sales for the year after also recording a strong result in November.
The best-selling 4X4 wagon in 2020 was the Toyota Prado (18,034 sales), followed by the Toyota LandCruiser (15,078 sales) and the Isuzu MU-X (7049 sales).
Interestingly, the Mitsubishi Pajero outsold the Pajero Sport in December with 552 sales compared to 484 sales, but for the full year the Pajero Sport racked up 6477 sales compared to Pajero’s 2399 sales.
Of the top 10 best-selling vehicles overall in 2020, seven of them were either SUVs or LCVs (Light Commercial Vehicles). Taking into account both 2WD and 4X4 variants, the Toyota HiLux was the best-selling vehicle in 2020 with 45,176 sales, followed by the Ford Ranger with 40,973 sales, the Toyota RAV4 with 38,537 sales, the Toyota Corolla with 25,882 sales, the Toyota LandCruiser with 25,142 sales, the Mazda CX-5 with 21,979 sales, the Hyundai i30 with 20,734 sales, the Mitsubishi Triton with 18,136 sales, the Toyota Prado with 18,034 sales and the Kia Cerato with 17,559 sales.
Toyota was by far the most popular brand in 2020 with new-car buyers, racking up 204,801 sales (22.3% market share), followed by Mazda (85,640 sales for 9.3% market share), Hyundai (64,807 sales for 7.1% market share), Ford (59,601 sales for 6.5% market share) and Mitsubishi (58,335 sales for 6.4% market share).
A total of 916,968 new vehicles were sold in 2020, down 13.7% on 2019 when 1,062,867 vehicles were sold, but the market is showing positive signs of growth with 95,652 new vehicles sold in December 2020, which was a 13.5 per cent increase over the same period in December 2019 (84,239 sales).
“COVID-19 has brought a health crisis and a corresponding economic crisis to the world during 2020,” FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said.
“And along with the rest of Australia, automotive brands and their dealer networks have found the last twelve months an extremely challenging period.
“The automotive industry in Australia accounts for more than 60,000 employees, with over 4000 dealerships across the country. The contribution made by these businesses is critically important to the economic wellbeing of communities across Australia.
“It is therefore with great relief that the industry, along with the general economy, is finally noting some positive signs within the market.”
Some standout 4X4 sales increases in 2020 included the the LDV D90, which was up 170.8% compared to 2019, the Ssangyong Musso (up 98.9%), the RAM 1500 Express (up 62.1%), the LDV T-60 (up 58.1%), the Nissan Patrol (up 44.5%), the Ford Everest (up 12.4%), the Toyota LandCruiser 200 (up 9.2%) and the Toyota LandCruiser PU/CC (up 9.1%).
Some of the more notable sales decreases in 2020 compared to 2019 included the Range Rover (down 51.3%), the Land Rover Discovery (down 34.6 %), the Mitsubishi Triton (down 31%), the Range Rover Sport (down 25.4%), the Volkswagen Amarok (down 24.5%), the Lexus LX (down 18.1%), the Isuzu MU-X (down 16.3%), the Mitsubishi Pajero (down 15.7%) and the Isuzu D-Max (down 9%).
