Toyota HiLux hit record sales in June

Australian vehicle sales fell last month, despite the annual June end-of-financial-year splurge that saw Toyota claim a record sales month for its HiLux ute.

Specifically, Toyota peddled 5787 examples of the HiLux, with the next best effort coming from the Ford Ranger at 4768 sales followed by the Mitsubishi Triton which rounded out the podium at 3919 sales.

Though the top three performers in June share the segment, the overall light-commercial category was down 0.3 per cent compared to the same month in 2017.

In fact, the entire market fell by 2.9 per cent down to a total of 130,300 vehicles; the drop cushioned by the continued growth of SUV sales which are up 9.3 per cent.

However, the sharp raise in SUV sales is at the expense of passenger cars which have dropped 17.9 per cent.

For the first time, the year-to-date sales of medium SUVs has surpassed small cars, tallying 109,034 and 108,049 respectively.

While the market did stumble in June, overall sales so far this year are up 1.0 per cent over last year's pace, currently at 605,522 units which should project to over a million come January.

Toyota was the best selling brand in June with 23,171 vehicles sold, but was still 5.6 per cent down compared to the same month in 2017.

Other than the best-selling HiLux, Toyota had two other vehicles in the top 10, the Corolla at 3780 sales and the RAV4 at 2690 sales, which was a record result for the medium SUV.

Mazda had a strong month, placing second at 12,469 sales, down just 0.3 per cent compared to last year.

Third-placed Hyundai however, declined 14.8 per cent with a total 10,436 vehicles.

Key models in the Hyundai line-up lost significant momentum, with the Tucson dropping 46.5 per cent, the Elantra down 35.6 per cent and the Accent slipping by 18.8 per cent.

Mitsubishi grew by 10.4 per cent last month to 10,232 units and a fourth placing, while Ford dipped by 15.4 per cent for a June result of 7492 units.

As expected, local manufacturer Holden has continued to struggle in the showroom, managing to move just 1159 Commodore units. Its overall sales were down by 20.4 per cent.

Kia and Honda had huge months, growing by 4.9 and 29.6 per cent respectively over last June, while Nissan (-1.3 per cent) and Volkswagen (-1.8) rounded out the top 10.

One surprise worth mentioning is Isuzu Ute Australia's (IUA) current standing in 13th overall, ahead of more established brands like BMW, Audi, Suzuki and Jeep. IUA is on its way to recording 10-straight years of double digit growth since it launched in 2008, with a 10.6 per cent year-to-date figure to the end of June. 

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