Ford Ranger Wins 4×4 Ute Market

August 5, 2021

Ute sales are at an all-time high

We take a look at which utes are doing best in 2021, before showing how the market as a whole has grown since 2010.

Australians love their utes, especially at tax time. In fact, during the course of 2021 total ute sales and market-share are both at all-time highs.

Instant asset write-down policies, superior products with greater comfort and safety, and less tangible aspects like changes in customer preference and self-image, have all conspired to make load-luggers the most-purchased vehicle type in the land.

The Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux are the two top-selling vehicles in the country over the course of 2021 and were equally popular last year, while the Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton sit sixth and seventh respectably. That’s four of the top seven vehicles…

Now since we’re just past the halfway point of 2021, it’s a suitable time to evaluate the market and discover the winners and losers among the load-luggers. From here on in, first-half sales will be shortened to H1.

VFACTS data supplied by car brands shows pickup and cab chassis utes with 4×2 or 4×4 drivetrains took combined 20.6 per cent share of the new-vehicle market between January 1 and June 30 this year, up from 20.1 per cent in 2020.

The lion’s share of this came from 4×4 models with 17.9 per cent overall market share versus 2.7 per cent for 4x2s. As such, 4×4 utes are the single most popular vehicle type ahead of mid-sized SUVs (17.2 per cent market share YTD).

Here’s a table showing the 4×4 ute market over H1 2021, with the growth over H1 2020.