VFACTS: The best-selling utes in Australia in 2023

The Australian-developed and engineered Ford Ranger ute has dethroned the Toyota HiLux from its seven-year long reign as the best-selling car in Australia in 2023.

Ford sold over 2000 more examples of the Ranger in 2023 than Toyota did HiLuxes.

The Isuzu D-Max followed the two segment leaders as the third-best selling ute (and third best-selling vehicle overall) in Australia in 2023, followed by the Mazda BT-50 and Mitsubishi Triton.

Rounding out the top 10 best-selling utes were the Toyota LandCruiser pick-up/cab-chassis, GWM Ute, LDV T60/eT60, Nissan Navara, and Volkswagen Amarok.

The US-built and locally converted Ram 1500 pick-up narrowly missed out making the top 10. It’s currently the best-selling vehicle in the full-sized ute segment in Australia.

There are also a wide range of new utes due to launch in Australia this year, including the likes of the BYD plug-in hybrid ute, Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster, JAC T9, new-generation Mitsubishi Triton, and Toyota HiLux with 48V Technology.

Australian ute (4×2 and 4×4 combined) sales, 2023

Ford continues to be strong in the more profitable 4×4 ute segment, where it offers variants like the high-performance Raptor and luxurious Platinum that Toyota can’t yet match.

Sales of North American-built and locally converted pickups continue to rise in Australia as well. The Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 were the two best-selling examples of these pickups locally during 2023.

It’s worth noting deliveries of the locally converted Ford F-150 only began in late November 2023, and were recently paused due to a turbocharger fault related to the remanufacturing process.

The Toyota Tundra also isn’t officially available for retail purchase, as Toyota Australia is currently conducting a “real-world evaluation and validation program” that will see 300 potential customers lease the pickup.

Australian ute (4×4) sales, 2023

Toyota makes up for the Ranger outselling it in the 4×4 ute segment by consistently outperforming it in the 4×2 ute segment where fleet buyers account for a larger share of the customer base.

The Isuzu D-Max also outsells the Ford Ranger in the 4×2 ute segment.

It’s worth noting part of the LDV T60 sales includes the eT60, which is currently the only all-electric ute on sale in Australia. It’s unclear exactly how many LDV eT60s were sold during 2023.

Australian ute (4×2) sales, 2023