Sales of the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Ram pick up trucks have soared whilst the rest of the car industry slowed down.
The most popular utes in Australia are now being used as weekend getaway cars.
The surge in sales of the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Ram 1500 is explained by industry insiders as being used as weekend getaway cars.
A car dealer with more than twenty years in the industry said that people are treating themselves to a new car since they’re unable to go overseas and instead use the car to take on holidays locally.
“A lot of people are coming in to look at a four-wheel-drive but are leaving in a ute,” the multi-franchise dealer said. “We’ve sold out of most (options) and we’re now waiting on fresh stock. It’s unbelievable. I don’t think any of us would have predicted this.”
While Ford has a decent supply of the Ranger, Toyota HiLux stock has only begun to arrive.
While customers have been put off by the HiLux’s price rise of up to $13,000, one dealer said customers don’t care. “They look at the repayments and not the price, they’re happy,” said the Toyota dealer.
Though the car market slowed down by 20%, sales of Australia’s top two selling vehicles, the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, have increased by 7% and 20% respectively in September 2020 compared to September 2019 sales.
The Ford Ranger had a total sales amount of 3,726 units while the Toyota HiLux had 3,610 units.
The surge in sales of the Ford Ranger knocked Toyota’s HiLux out of the top sales spot for the first time in three years.
It was the second time the Ford Ranger has led the new-car market outright, after getting the top spot in December 2017.
The last time a Ford led the Australian new-car market was the Falcon in August 2005.
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