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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.

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The battle between the HiLux and Ranger has never been closer.
The battle between the HiLux and Ranger has never been closer.
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
15 Sep 2023
2 min read

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.

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.
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.
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.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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