Ranger first, but Toyota rules the roost

Toyota's Corolla remains popular, and with 2,439 sales during May, helped Toyota to remain Australia's leading new car brand

FORD and Toyota continued their ongoing battle for sales supremacy in May, as the overall market set yet another record for new vehicle sales.

The Ford Ranger family again took out the top spot for individual vehicles, with 5,912 units sold, 210 ahead of Toyota's HiLux (5,702), although Australian car buyers long-standing love of Toyota products was reaffirmed when the Japanese manufacturer took out five of the top ten sales spots, with total monthly sales of 23,389.

Ford clung on to second overall, with 8,809 sales for the month, however in what could be seen as frustrating for the Blue Oval brand, 8,022 of those sales were Rangers or the related Everest SUV, with the remaining nameplates accounting for just 787 sales during the month.

Mazda claimed third for the month, with 8,002 sales, headlined by the CX-5 SUV (2,108), followed by KIA (7,504), Hyundai (6,495), Mitsubishi (6,409), Isuzu Ute (4,401), MG (4,159), Tesla (3,567) and Nissan (3,425).

Tony Weber, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), said the May result underscored the ongoing strength of the Australian new car market.

“The continued growth highlights consumer confidence and the industry’s ability to meet diverse needs of Australian motorists despite current economic challenges,” Mr Weber said.

While petrol-powered vehicles remain the biggest selling models, with 45,262 sales for the month, followed by diesel models (34,479), the continuing growth in popularity of Electric Vehicles, hybrid and plug-in hybrid models saw 26,565 vehicles delivered during the month, up from 16,515 models in May 2023.

Private vehicle buyers remain the backbone of the market, with 56,315 sales, ahead of business buyers (41,007), rental fleets (5,046) and government (3,938).