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Is Australia beginning to fall out-of-love with the ute? January 2025 sales suggest the honeymoon may be over…
After slowing in 2024, sales of utes continued to slide in January 2025 with the top three most popular models – the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max – all posting double-digit year-on-year sales falls.
In January 2025, the same top-three sellers from 12 months ago were second, third and sixth on the sales ladder – in the same order of Ranger, HiLux then D-Max – as the popularity of utes tapered off.
The Toyota HiLux suffered the biggest fall at 19.3 per cent – with 3302 sales against 4092 – with a new model still more than 12 months away, not expected in Australian showrooms until 2026.
Isuzu Ute Australia (IUA) – which enjoyed record sales in Australia in 2024 – also saw a reverse of fortunes from twelve months ago, D-Max sales dropping 17.9 per cent with 2086 sold in January 2025 compared to 2541 in January last year.
The Ford Ranger – January 2025 runner up to the overall sales leader, the Toyota RAV4 SUV – saw a smaller 10.4 per cent decline, yet its 4254 sales couldn’t match the 4747 sold in January 2024 despite the return of the limited-edition Wildtrak X.
The Ranger’s decline was ahead – just – of the overall light commercial market’s figures showing a 10.5 per cent fall.
The downward trend carries over from 2024 when – despite topping the sales for the second consecutive year – sales of the Ranger fell 0.6 per cent for both 4x2 and 4x4 models combined.
The result appears worse given the overall 2024 new vehicle market increased a meagre 0.3 per cent but is more commendable considering light commercial sales were down 1.4 per cent last year.
Again, the Toyota HiLux recorded the biggest fall of the top-three utes in 2024, with a 12.5 per cent decline, the Isuzu D-Max posting a 3.2 per cent fall.
Among private new car buyers in Australia, the Ranger’s number one spot from 2024 saw it slide to fifth overall – behind the leading Toyota RAV4 SUV –making up almost two-thirds of Ford Australia’s overall sales.
In fact, combined with the Ford Everest SUV – which is essentially an SUV version of the Ranger – 87 per cent of Ford’s total sales in January 2025 came from the two models, and the car maker is showing no public concerns for its reliance on the duo.
Securing a slice of the shrinking pie is set to become more difficult in 2025, with Australian ute buyers, predominantly dual cabs, set to have more choice.
First arrivals of the BYD Shark 6 have landed locally, while the all-new Kia Tasman – the first dual-cab ute from the South Korean brand – is scheduled to arrive around mid-year.
Isuzu may also add a new engine to the D-Max line-up, which could also be offered in the Mazda BT-50 which it shares its underpinnings and current powertrain with.
Not laying idle, Ford will introduce the Ranger PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) in the middle of 2025, while also working on a Ranger Super Duty with greater braked towing capacity than the standard line-up’s 3500kg rating.
