Utes dominate Aussie market

Registrations of new vehicles in Australia totalled 122,509 units last month, marking an increase of 2.4 per cent – or 2,850 units – from 119,659 in June 2024. 

It takes the year-to-date total to 608,811 new vehicles, which the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) says demonstrates the strength and resilience of the automotive sector despite ongoing economic pressures.

The top four models in June were all utes and light commercial vehicles accounted for 25.3 per cent of the market.

Ford’s Ranger, pictured, was the best-seller with 6,293 units, followed by the Toyota Hilux on 6,195. Next was the Isuzu Ute D-Max and BYD Shark 6 on 3,119 and 2,993 respectively.

The Ford Everest completed the top five after selling 2,705 units.

Tony Weber, FCAI chief executive, says the result highlights the ongoing popularity of dual-cab utes and the diversity of choice in the Australian market.

“Australia remains one of the most open and competitive markets in the world, where consumers have a wide range of choice across all market segments,” he adds.

“In a market of more than 400 models, the top four utes made up 15.2 per cent of all sales during June.

“The rest of the top 10 was made up of SUVs and, when combined, models in the top 10 made up 27.2 per cent of all sales.” 

Passenger cars, such as sedans and hatchbacks, continued their decline, with sales down 27.9 per cent year-on-year to 15,190 units in June. They now represent just 12.4 per cent of the total market.

The proportion of EV sales was stronger in June and have now made up 7.7 per cent of total sales year-to-date, compared with eight per cent in 2024 and 7.4 per cent in 2023. 

Toyota was the leading marque last month with 20,225 sales. Next was Ford on 10,103, Mazda with 9,405, Hyundai with 8,407 and BYD on 8,156.