Were you one of Toyota's two most-important Australians? Neck-and-neck battle for Australia's top-selling ute means YOU could have been the one who put the HiLux ahead of the Ranger last month.

The battle between the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger is as close as it's been in recent memory, with just a handful of sales separating Australia's two best-selling vehicles last month.

In fact, the battle was so close that, if you took delivery of a Toyota HiLux last month – or, more importantly, if you decided to delay your purchase of a Ranger – you could have been a major factor in Toyota taking the win.

Last month, Toyota recorded 5762 sales of the HiLux across Australia. Ford came in just behind, with 5760 sales. It means just two people were responsible for giving the HiLux the edge last month.

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It was another incredible result for the HiLux, given the age of that vehicle compared to the newer, fresher Ranger, and the August sales results have extended Toyota's lead in the two-horse race for top-selling ute.

The Japanese giant has shifted 38,529 examples of its HiLux ute so far this year. The Ford Ranger, on the other hand, has sold 37,644 units.

The battle between the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger is as close as it's been in recent memory.

That gives Toyota a slim lead in year-to-date sales, and the Japanese car maker has more HiLux variants to come. The incoming GR Sport, for example, has already attracted some 1600 orders, with a view to build 3500 per year.

"We're talking 3500 units, annual volume," Toyota's VP of sales and marketing, Sean Hanley said. "It's highly incremental, we can adjust from there, depending on demand."

It was another incredible result for the HiLux, given the age of that vehicle compared to the newer, fresher Ranger.

Toyota also tells us it has its production woes behind it, with the brand expecting to shift some 20,000 vehicles per month for the rest of the year.

"We expect to average 20,000 vehicles a month for the rest of 2023. We'll deliver more vehicles in the second half of the year than in the first seven months," Hanley said.