The Toyota HiLux ute has beaten perennial best-sellers the Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3 to claim top spot in the latest car sales figures.
Official industry figures released today show nearly 5000 units of the always-popular utility vehicle were sold in June.
The 4931 figure for the Toyota HiLux put it ahead of the Corolla (4196) and Mazda 3 (3672).
The result propels the HiLux into a three-way battle with the small cars for the crown of best selling vehicle in 2013.
Corolla leads year on year with 20,970, but is now followed closely by the HiLux (20,721) with the 3 not far behind (20,077).
In a strong month for dual-purpose utes, the Mitsubishi Triton (3456), Nissan Navara (2641) and Ford Ranger (2305) all finished in the top 10 for June.
The Toyota Camry medium car (2652) was the only non small car or ute to be in that list.
The new Holden VF Commodore (below) failed to make the top 10, with 2144 sales down 22 per cent on June 2012. It’s just clinging on to the top 10 for accumulative sales for the first half of 2013, edging out the rising Mazda CX-5.
CX-5 had a record month in June, selling more than 2000 units (2036) for the first time since launching in early 2012.
Mazda was one of a number of manufacturers to achieve a record monthly result in a June that saw 118,758 cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles sold – up 5.5 per cent year on year.
Audi (1505) and Nissan (9228) joined that group, with Mitsubishi also claiming its best month since becoming an import-only business.
Just 749 sales separated five of the top five brands in June – between third-placed Hyundai (9914) and seventh-placed Ford (9165).
Toyota sold more than double the next most popular brand – 22,160 units versus Holden’s 10,483, though the Japanese brand has zero growth year on year.
Brands notable for a poor month included Volkswagen, which has been the subject of recent media scrutiny over its handling of reliability concerns. The company’s sales fell nearly 20 per cent compared with June 2012. [Read our separate story.]
Chinese brands are struggling to maintain their promising early starts in Australia. Chery and Great Wall Motors are down 31 and 34 per cent respectively year on year.
Top 10 best-selling vehicles – June 2013
Toyota HiLux 4931
Toyota Corolla 4196
Mazda 3 3672
Hyundai i30 3664
Mitsubishi Triton 3456
Toyota Camry 2652
Nissan Navara 2641
Holden Cruze 2378
Nissan Pulsar 2323
Ford Ranger 2305
Top 10 brands – June 2013
Toyota 22,160
Holden 10,483
Hyundai 9914
Nissan 9687
Mazda 9567
Mitsubishi 9257
Ford 9165
VW 5520
Honda 5061
Subaru 4119
Top 10 vehicles – Jan to June 2013
Toyota Corolla 20,970
Toyota HiLux 20,721
Mazda 3 20,077
Hyundai i30 14,982
Nissan Navara 13,723
Mitsubishi Triton 13,054
Holden Cruze 12,503
Ford Ranger 10,563
Ford Focus 10,413
Holden Commodore 10,301
Top 10 brands – Jan to June 2013
Toyota 106,110
Mazda 52,287
Holden 51,547
Hyundai 47,979
Nissan 44,504
Ford 44,065
Mitsubishi 37,329
VW 27,654
Honda 23,429
Subaru 20,713
