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As we near the halfway point of 2023, the new vehicle market has yielded another first: namely, the top three-selling vehicles in Australia at this point in a year are diesel utes.
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While we have become accustomed to the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger sitting one-two on the charts – having done so since 2017 – the bronze medallist over a full year has never been another load-lugger.
This holds true across previous years both to the end of May (our latest figures are for May 2023, hence this measure) and across all 12 months.
The third-placed vehicle in question is, of course, the Isuzu D-Max. The D-Max's ascension to third spot year-to-date comes despite ongoing supply restrictions leading to delivery delays.
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Helping its cause is the fact the outgoing number-three, Toyota's RAV4, is also being held back by shortages, hence its YTD position of fourth place.
In another first, the Tesla Model 3 rounds out the top five, something no electric car has done before.
Zooming out a touch, the overall ute segment has actually lost market share YTD relative to 2022: namely they account for 20.7 per cent of the market (down from 21.3). Reflecting the success of the current-generation D-Max, its Mazda BT-50 near-identical twin – they share all the same mechanical components and Isuzu builds both vehicles – sits fourth-in-class on 7045 sales, overtaking the ageing Mitsubishi Triton.
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However, when it comes to the D-Max retaining its top three place to the end of the year, there's one major potential problem: namely the government's decision to bring down the threshold for the instant asset write-off policy that drives tradie take-up.
Expect therefore a big rush to take delivery before June 30.
Top 10-selling models in 2023 (January to May):
- Toyota HiLux: 21,951
- Ford Ranger: 21,407
- Isuzu D-Max: 10,743
- Toyota RAV4: 10,665
- Tesla Model 3: 10,117
- MG ZS: 9823
- Mazda CX-5: 9795
- Mitsubishi Outlander: 9718
- Hyundai i30: 8691
- Tesla Model Y: 8442
The top 3 models for each year:
Ute market share over the past 20 years:
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Content originally sourced from: CarExpert.com.au