It turns out Australia’s love affair with ute has a limit after all.
Toyota Australia boss, Sean Hanley, has predicted that the country is running out of new ute buyers at the same time the number of ute models to choose from grows. As a result, even incredibly popular models like the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, which have been the best-selling new vehicles for several years, could suffer a sales stall or even a decline.
BACA LEBIH LANJUT: Mengapa pasar ute mengalami keretakan
Instead, Hanley believes an SUV, most like Toyota’s own RAV4, will become Australia’s most popular individual vehicle in the near-future. Sales of the RAV4 have been strong and steady for several years, peaking in the last year with best-selling months since mid-2024.
“ The most telling figure from January [sales data], though… is that hybrid sales grew by more than 50 per cent,” Hanley said. “Once again, RAV4 led the way. The seventh month in a row, it has been Australia’s best-selling vehicle. And of course, naturally, I would think this does beg the question, could an SUV become Australia’s best selling vehicle?
“Or, 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. We know that ute buyers can look forward to having much greater choice available to them. But despite that, total ute sales are likely, I think, to remain fairly static.
"Dan segmen yang semakin terpecah-pecah akan semakin menyulitkan satu model untuk mendominasi tangga penjualan. Dengan ute yang sedang ditantang sebagai kendaraan paling populer di Australia, menurut saya, sebuah SUV, mungkin, dan saya katakan mungkin, bahkan RAV4 milik kami sendiri, bisa jadi akan naik ke puncak tangga penjualan dalam beberapa tahun ke depan.
"Jadi, perhatikan ruang itu dengan sangat hati-hati saat kita melangkah maju."
While Toyota is preparing to launch a new-generation HiLux, several big-name newcomers have entered the market or are about to, including the BYD Shark 6 and Kia Tasman. There are also more rivals from China, such as the LDV Terron 9 and T60, and likely a new challenger from MG.
— Contributing Andrew van Leeuwen
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