Australia’s top three selling cars are utes with Mitsubishi Triton sales surging by 67 per cent

We’re all on the back of a truck: Australia’s top three selling cars are all monster UTES – with Mitsubishi sales surging by 67% in one year

  • Utes were three bestsellers in February with new Mitsubishi Triton sales surging 
  • Thai-built model joined the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger on the sales podium
  • Buyers turned away from small hatchbacks with Toyota Corolla sales plunging 

The top three selling cars in Australia are all utes for only the second time in motoring history.

The Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and the newly-released Mitsubishi Triton dominated the sales charts in February. 

Thai-built models held the top spots, marking only the second time in Australian motoring history that utes have been the three bestsellers.

The story was very different for small hatchbacks with sales of the Toyota Corolla, once Australia’s best-selling car, diving by more than a third as buyers also turned away from the Mazda3 and Hyundai i30.

Australia’s top three selling cars are utes for only the second time in motoring history (the Toyota Hilux pictured held the top spot in February)

With utes in vogue, sales of the Mitsubishi Triton surged by an astonishing 66.6 per cent in February, compared with the same month in 2018, only weeks after a new model was released in Australia, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries data showed.

It also took out the third spot on the Australia for the first time since June 2018, when utes were Australia’s top three sellers for the first time ever.

Mitsubishi had a particularly good month, with sales of the ASX SUV more than doubling from 902 to 2,122, or a massive 135.2 per cent in one year.

Not all SUVs were as popular, with sales of the Toyota RAV4 diving by 11 per cent as showrooms clear out existing stock to make room for an all-new model.

Sales of the Mitsubishi Triton (pictured) surged by an astonishing 66.6 per cent in February,  compared with the same month in 2018, only weeks after a new model was released in Australia. It held the third spot last month

Sales of the Mitsubishi Triton (pictured) surged by an astonishing 66.6 per cent in February,  compared with the same month in 2018, only weeks after a new model was released in Australia. It held the third spot last month

Utes were Australia's top-three selling cars in February, as they were in June 2018 (pictured is a Ford Ranger Raptor)

Utes were Australia’s top-three selling cars in February, as they were in June 2018 (pictured is a Ford Ranger Raptor)

Toyota also had a particularly shocking month with the Corolla, as sales dived by more than a third, or 36.7 per cent compared with February 2018, even though the model was only released in August last year.

The Corolla was Australia’s bestselling car from 2012 to 2015. 

Automotive bestsellers

1. Toyota Hilux up 0.1% to 4,431

2. Ford Ranger  down 4.7% to 3,377

3. Mitsubishi Triton up 66.6% to 3,155

4.  Mazda3 down 9.5% to 2,655

5.  Mazda CX-5 up 7.6% to 2,357

6.  Mitsubishi ASX up 135.5% to 2,122

7.  Toyota Corolla down 36.7% to 2,070

8.  Hyundai i30 down 11.6% to 1,929

9.  Toyota LandCruiser up 0.9% to 1,804

10.  Toyota RAV4 down 11% to 1,639

Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries VFacts sales data for February 2019 compared with February 2018 

In December, Toyota issued a recall notice about the Continuously Variable Transmission’s faulty torque converter, warning a ‘manufacturing error’ could cause the blades to detach.

Hyundai also had a harder time selling hatchbacks, with i30 sales plummeting by 11.6 per cent in a year.

Mazda3 sales also tumbled, falling by an annual pace of 9.5 per cent in February despite run-out discounts as some buyers wait for an all-new model to arrive at dealers later this year.

Mazda had more luck with the CX-5 SUV, with sales rising by 7.6 per cent to 2,357, putting it less than 300 sales behind the Mazda3. 

Australia’s vehicle sales tally of 87,102 for February was 9.3 per cent weaker compared with the same month last year.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber blamed falling house prices in Sydney and Melbourne for making consumers more reluctant to buy a car.

‘Given the current challenging economic conditions, including a downturn in the housing market, the automotive industry is not surprised by the slower start to the year,’ he said.

The new Toyota Corolla (pictured) was recalled in December, and its sales dived by more than a third, or 36.7 per cent, in February 2019 compared with a year earlier

The new Toyota Corolla (pictured) was recalled in December, and its sales dived by more than a third, or 36.7 per cent, in February 2019 compared with a year earlier

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