Australians have continued their love affair with utes and SUVs in March with inconsistent supply of popular models bringing a surprising third place-winner to the fore
The Toyota Hilux ute has regained the throne as Australia’s best-selling vehicle in March 2022 amid a five percent downturn in sales for the market as a whole.
A total of 6324 sales were recorded for the Hilux according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industry’s (FCAI) monthly report, showing a clear lead over the Toyota RAV4 midsize SUV which was the next best-selling vehicle with 4610 sales.
Limited availability of crucial parts and interruptions to the global supply chain worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to provide a mismatch between demand and supply but some manufacturers are persevering better than others.
Mitsubishi enjoyed a strong month in March, with the Triton ute recording 3808 sales compared to 2492 sales in the same period last year after the Japanese manufacturer managed to secure a consistent supply of utes to Australia.
Coming in at fourth place was the Mazda CX-5 midsize SUV (3772) which has also benefited from strong supply lines to Australia thanks to the prioritisation of our market by Mazda Motor Corporation globaly.
While the Ford Ranger (2960) ute is usually competitive with the Hilux for first-place honours it tumbled down the sales charts in March, with stock of the outgoing Pk III model thinning ahead of the release of the new-generation T6.2 Ranger in June.
The most popular small car sold in Australia was the Hyundai i30 (2455) which placed sixth overall, with its closest competitor the Toyota Corolla (1924) coming in ninth place.
Continuing its momentum in the top ten was the Isuzu D-Max ute (2447) which was the eighth most popular vehicle followed by the Toyota Prado 4WD in eighth spot (2230).
The Mazda CX-30 (1829) was the most popular small SUV on sale head of Chinese rival MG ZS (1756) in 10th and 11th place respectively.
Mitsubishi saw its Pajero Sport (1669) become the 12th most popular vehicle, followed by the Mazda BT-50 ute and Mitsubishi Outlander (1619) and Kia Sportage (1530) midsize SUVs.
In 16th place was the MG3 hatchback which continues to sell consistently well despite continuous price increases.
Tesla has officially joined the FCAI’s monthly sales reports, revealing that it sold 4417 Model 3s over the first three months of the year meaning there was an average of 1472 for every month.
The Nissan Navara ute was the 18th most popular vehicle overall, recording 1320 sales after seeing strong popularity for its Pro-4X Warrior performance models.
Following close behind was the Hyundai Kona small SUV (1246) in 19th place while the Kia Cerato small car rounded out the top 20 with 1238 sales.
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