The Ford Ranger looks set to become Australia’s best-selling new vehicle by 2024, barring a miracle for the Toyota RAV4, which has topped the sales charts in five out of 10 months so far this year.
Through the end of October, Ford has delivered 53,119 Rangers (both 4×2 and 4×4) to Australian customers, an increase of almost eight percent year-on-year, in a market that has grown by just under three percent.
Last year it broke a decade-long Toyota stranglehold, dating back to the Corolla from 2013 to 2016, and then the Ranger’s arch-rival, the HiLux, between 2017 and 2022.
Ending the year on top, the Ranger also gave Ford its first year-end victory since 1995, when the EF Falcon became the Blue Oval sales champion.
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Fast forward to now and the Ranger has another chance to make history.
If Ford can continue to deliver Rangers at the same pace it has through 2024, it will not only eclipse last year’s sales figure but also record the highest sales for any vehicle since before the global financial crisis.
Not even Toyota could deliver more units of the Corolla or HiLux in any single year than Holden achieved in 2008, when 64,542 Commodores were registered.
At the time this was a mix of the new VE sedan – best known as Holden’s ‘billion dollar baby’ – and early versions of the new Ute (launched in August 2007) and Sportwagon.
Since 2008, no vehicle has been able to eclipse what the Commodore managed to achieve.
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VE Commodore range
If you include the Ute in the Commodore’s sales figures, Holden’s big car range lost its reputation as Australia’s best-selling car to the Mazda 3 in 2012.
Without including the Ute (technically sold under a different name but still called the Commodore), the Mazda overtook it in 2011.
Whichever year you count, no Holden has ever topped the year-end sales figures again, breaking a streak that stretched back to 1997 with the VT and spanned the VX, VY, VZ and VE generations. The VF, the last Commodore built in Australia, never finished at the top.
However, unless a miracle happens in November and December, the Ranger is unlikely to reach the heights of the Commodore’s popularity as it did in 2003 when the VY (and related Ute and Crewman) recorded a whopping 103,764 deliveries – presumably a comprehensive delivery. -time high.
It seems unlikely that the Ranger will achieve the Commodore’s highest market share of 12.5 percent (in 2001 with the VX), with Ford currently accounting for around five percent of all new car sales.
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VF was the only Commodore since the VT that was not a bestseller
| Year | Total new car sales | Most popular model | Sale | Percentage of total sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 722,642 | Holden Commodore | 85,132 | 11.8 |
| 1998 | 807,607 | Holden Commodore | 103,167 | 12.8 |
| 1999 | 786,815 | Holden Commodore | 93,990 | 11.9 |
| 2000 | 787,100 | Holden Commodore | 89,971 | 11.4 |
| 2001 | 772,681 | Holden Commodore | 96,595 | 12.5 |
| 2002 | 824,309 | Holden Commodore | 102,269 | 12.4 |
| 2003 | 909,811 | Holden Commodore | 103,764 | 11.4 |
| 2004 | 955,229 | Holden Commodore | 101,542 | 10.6 |
| 2005 | 988,269 | Holden Commodore | 86,996 | 8.8 |
| 2006 | 962,666 | Holden Commodore | 70,605 | 7.3 |
| 2007 | 1,049,982 | Holden Commodore | 68,827 | 6.6 |
| 2008 | 1,012,164 | Holden Commodore | 64,542 | 6.4 |
| 2009 | 937,328 | Holden Commodore | 56,491 | 6 |
| 2010 | 1,035,574 | Holden Commodore | 57,361 | 5.5 |
| 2011 | 1,008,437 | Holden Commodore | 50,106 | 5 |
| 2012 | 1,112,032 | Mazda3 | 44,128 | 4 |
| 2013 | 1,136,227 | Toyota Corolla | 43,498 | 3.8 |
| 2014 | 1,113,224 | Toyota Corolla | 43,735 | 3.9 |
| 2015 | 1,155,408 | Toyota Corolla | 42,073 | 3.6 |
| 2016 | 1,178,133 | Toyota Corolla | 40,330 | 3.4 |
| 2017 | 1,189,116 | Toyota HiLux | 47,093 | 4 |
| 2018 | 1,153,111 | Toyota HiLux | 51,705 | 4.5 |
| 2019 | 1,062,867 | Toyota HiLux | 47,649 | 4.5 |
| 2020 | 916,968 | Toyota HiLux | 45,176 | 4.9 |
| 2021 | 1,049,831 | Toyota HiLux | 52,801 | 5 |
| 2022 | 1,081,429 | Toyota HiLux | 64,391 | 6 |
| 2023 | 1,216,780 | Ford Ranger | 63,356 | 5.2 |
| 2024 (until October 31) | 1,035,915 | Ford Ranger | 53,119 | 5.1 |
Note: Commodore sales from 1997 to 2002 include Commodore Utility. From 2003 to 2011, the Holden Ute, One Tonner and Crewman were included where applicable. Without combining these, the Mazda 3 was the bestseller in 2011 with 41,429 sales.
MORE: VFACTS October 2024: Toyota RAV4 still tops as HiLux closes gap to Ranger
