Is Toyota in trouble? Ford Ranger rumbles the HiLux ute again as new-car market booms in February

The Toyota HiLux's record as Australia's best-selling vehicle is now officially under threat, with the Ford Ranger taking the crown as the country's most popular vehicle in February, making it now consecutive months that the all-new model has finished on top.

According to the latest VFACTS report, some 4473 examples of the Ford Ranger found homes in February, up a significant 29.5 per cent on the same month last year. Conversely, Toyota managed 3939 sales in February, a fall of 18 per cent year on year. 

Obviously stock supplies, delivery delays and order banks play a significant role in sales results, but Toyota now faces the very real possibility of losing a crown its held for seven consecutive years.

In the first two months of 2023, the Ranger has managed a total 9222 sales, while the HiLux has sold 8070 units. 

Elsewhere, the Australian new-car market is booming, with last month being the best February result since 2019. In total, 86,878 vehicles found homes, up 1.8 per cent on the same month last year.

While the Ranger and HiLux duked it out for spots one and two last month, the big surprise was the Tesla Model 3, which was the third most popular model in Australia last month, with Elon Musk's EV brand shifting 2671 units, finishing ahead off the Mazda CX-5 (2600 sales) and the Mitsubishi Outlander (2166 sales), which rounded out last month's top five. 

The Toyota RAV4, the MG ZS, the Isuzu D-Max, the Subaru Forester and the MG3 hatch held spots six through 10.

On the brand front, Toyota remains unstoppable, shifting an incredible 14,332 vehicles. Mazda finished in second place, with 7667 sales, followed by Ford with 6022 sales, Kia with 6000 sales, and Hyundai with 5504 sales.

The Model 3 was Australia third best selling vehicle in February

“This is the best February result since 2019. It is particularly pleasing given global and domestic supply constraints,” said FCAI Chief Executive, Tony Weber.

Zero and low-emission vehicles continue to boom in Australia, with BEVs accounting for 5932 sales last month, making up 6.8 percent of the market. Add hybrids and plug-in hybrids, and that number grows to 12,102 sales, or 13.9 percent of the market.

“The number of low emission vehicle sales demonstrates that there is an appetite among Australians for environmentally friendly vehicles. However, if we wish to accelerate this transition to a broader range of consumers in all parts of the country, Australia needs to adopt a fuel efficiency standard,” Mr Weber says.

Most popular brands February 2023

Most popular models February 2023