Toyota claims Australia has reached ‘peak ute’
Australia’s long-time love affair with utes is over according to the country’s biggest car brand, with a new upstart set to take over.
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Australia’s love affair with utes is waning, with the nation’s top brand tipping an SUV will become the nation’s best-selling car this year.
Toyota Australia vice president Sean Hanley says cars like the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger will not remain on top of the annual sales charts. Toyota’s RAV4 Hybrid has led sales charts since July, and it has a head start over rivals.
“Naturally, I would think this does beg the question - will an SUV become Australia’s best selling vehicle?” he says.
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“Maybe we should put it another way. Have we in fact reached what I call ‘peak ute?’
“The answer to both questions, I think, is very likely.”
Hanley says “greater choice” in the ute market - including fresh metal such as the BYD Shark, GWM Cannon Alpha Hybrid, and upcoming Geely Riddara - will take a bite out of the likes of the HiLux and Ranger.
“Total ute sales are likely to remain fairly static,” he says.
“The more fragmented segment will make it increasingly difficult for a single model to dominate the sales charts. With the ute under challenge as Australia’s most popular vehicle, it is more than possible, I think, an SUV perhaps even our very own RAV4 might very well rise to the top of the sales charts within the next couple of years, so watch that space very carefully.”
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While SUVs represent 60 per cent of Australian new car sales, no SUV has led annual sales of vehicles in Australia.
Sales were led by Australian models such as the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon for decades, before more affordable small cars such as the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla took over.
Toyota’s HiLux then took the title as Australia’s best-selling car for seven years, before Ford’s Ranger became the nation’s top seller in 2023 and 2024.
Hanley says the potential rise of an SUV to number one “signifies another shift in the automotive segment of Australia”.
Seven-seat SUVs such as the Toyota Prado or Ford Everest do a better job of moving people and their stuff.
“We know from our own research, generationally, ute owners, particularly, those in their mid to late 30s who are married with kids, will move to an SUV,” he says.
“Families move on, generations move on, it’s just a trend.
“It was the families that moved to utes... they had the ute because it served a purpose during the day and they could take it away on the weekend.
“As their family grows, it’s like ‘hold on a minute’, I need to get to an SUV’.”
MORE: ‘Porsche of off-road’: Aussie ute’s wild claim
Originally published as Toyota claims Australia has reached ‘peak ute’
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