Utes are fast becoming the new Aussie family car: Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger set new record

[Express]

Utes are fast becoming the new Aussie family car: Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger set new record






Joshua Dowling, National Motoring Editor, News Corp Australia Network
November 2, 2016



EXCLUSIVE

AUSTRALIA’S love affair with utes has just reached a staggering new milestone.

The Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger were the two top selling cars outright in October — pushing popular models such as the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai i30 down the pecking order.

It is the first time in Australian automotive history that a pair of utility vehicles have taken out the top two spots in the monthly sales charts.

In another shock, the Toyota HiLux has become the top-selling vehicle year-to-date — narrowly ahead of the Toyota Corolla which has been Australia’s favourite car for the past three years in a row.

The Toyota HiLux has led the monthly charts before, but this is the first time it has come close to taking out top prize in the annual sales race.

However, Australia’s top-selling workhorse for the past three decades is under threat from the Ford Ranger.



Ford Ranger (left) is closing the gap on Toyota HiLux (right). Picture: Joshua Dowling


The Toyota HiLux four-door 4WD ute has been outsold by the equivalent Ford Ranger for six of the past 10 months — including September and October — but HiLux still leads the ute market overall when the cheaper models are tallied as well.

The popularity of utes was previously attributed to the mining boom.

But industry experts say utes are becoming the “new SUV”, doubling up as a work vehicle and a family car.

The appeal of utes is now so strong that even German luxury brand Mercedes-Benz is joining the booming market.

Unveiling its take on the ute theme last week, the global boss of Mercedes-Benz, Dieter Zetsche, said: “More and more people consider pick-ups like SUVs. History is repeating. What we saw 20 years ago with SUVs we are seeing today with the pick-up market.”

Mercedes-Benz market analyst, Anja Kratzenstein said: “The pick-up market has changed, they are now being bought by passenger-car buyers.”



Ford Ranger has made a big impact on the ute market. Picture: Supplied


Meanwhile, Toyota is in a race with itself for the title of Australia’s top-selling car.

The HiLux ute and Corolla small car now have a clear lead over the Hyundai i30, Mazda3 and Ford Ranger for outright honours in 2016.

If the Corolla wins, it will be its fourth year in a row at the top of the charts.

If the HiLux wins, it will go down in history as the first ute to lead the new-car market in Australia.

Toyota as a brand is on track to post its 14th year in a row as overall market leader — ahead of Mazda and Hyundai — while Holden and Ford battle for fourth and fifth place.

Holden is on track to post its lowest sales in 23 years and the Commodore was even outsold by the Toyota Camry last month.

Ford posted its 12th month in a row of sales growth after 11 years of straight decline.

Mazda had a tough time in October — overtaken by Hyundai and pushed to third place — and the Mazda CX-5 soft-roader was bounced out of the Top 10 after being outsold by equivalent models from Nissan and Mitsubishi.


Top 11 cars: October 2016

Toyota HiLux 3350

Ford Ranger 3215

Toyota Corolla 3210

Hyundai i30 2715

Mazda3 2190

Toyota Camry 2135

Holden Commodore 2100

Hyundai Accent 2010

Nissan XTrail 1655

Mitsubishi ASX 1650

Mazda CX-5 1610


Top 10 brands: October 2016

Toyota 16,350

Hyundai 8700

Mazda 7900

Holden 7520

Ford 6500

Nissan 5540

Mitsubishi 5240

Volkswagen 4870

Subaru 4140

Kia 3540


Source: Car industry preliminary figures, rounded.


BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

The TV ads might make some blokes cringe, but the reality is the modern workhorse is turning into a show pony — while still being able to get the job done.

The “work and play” marketing spin has become a reality — but it’s not because utes have suddenly become a fashion accessory.

There is a long list of plausible reasons the car industry is now predicting utes are becoming the new family cars, and are poised to overtake the growth of SUVs.

In Australia, utes are already the third-biggest selling vehicle type after small cars and SUVs.

In Queensland, West Australia and the Northern Territory, the Toyota HiLux has been the top seller for seven years in a row.



Bede Watson, 20, with his Ford Ranger which he loves taking on camping and surf trips. Picture: Lachie Millard


Now it is on the verge of beating the iconic Toyota Corolla as the favourite car across the entire nation.

If the HiLux takes top honours for 2016 it will be the first time in Australian automotive history a ute has led the market. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised: Australia did invent the ute, after all.

It’s been a long and bumpy road to get to this point, but the explanation is simple. The mining boom delivered the initial sales burst but, now that has subsided, it’s Aussie mums and dads driving the growth in ute sales.

Utes today are dramatically different from how they drove just five years ago.

Fleets demanded better safety (the HiLux has seven airbags, the same as a Corolla) and customers demanded better technology (the Ford Ranger, for example, has radar cruise control, automatic lane keeping assistance, and Apple CarPlay).

No wonder German luxury brand Mercedes wants in on the action.

While the Mercedes ute — shhh, it’s a Nissan Navara underneath, Mercedes did a model-sharing deal to get to market quicker — will be priced out of reach for most Australians when it goes on sale locally in 2018, it means every other brand will need to lift their game.

If you think the current crop of utes is pretty good, wait until you see the choice in 2020. Every major brand is working hard right now to add more technology, better comfort and more car-like driving behaviour to their future models.

How do they say it in France? Tray chic.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling

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