Modern Light Commercials.

possibly an NRR or something close to that

Roderick.

Ute beauty! Toyota HiLux tops 2016 sales charts, first time a pick-up has been Australia’s favourite ‘car’.
News Corp Australia Network, Thurs.5.1.17.
TRADIES, “cashed-up bogans”, and divorced dads have helped drive a ute to the top sales spot for the first time in Australian automotive history.
The Toyota HiLux was Australia’s favourite ‘car’ in 2016, defeating hatchbacks such as the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30 and Mazda3, figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries will show.
Australians also treated themselves to more new vehicles than any other time in our history, with 1,178,133 cars reported as sold, overtaking the previous record of 1.15 million last year, an increase of 2 per cent.
According to marketing experts, the construction boom has taken over where the mining boom left off, with many small businesses using low interest rates and plenty of work as excuses to trade up to a new model.
The ute is also increasingly being used as a workhorse during the week and a family car on weekends.
Utes such as the Toyota HiLux now double as family cars as well as workhorses. Picture: Joshua Dowling.
One car company insider, who declined to be named, said “divorced dads” were partly driving ute sales “because they’re sick of the kids bikes, beach towels and camping gear messing up their new SUV”.
Another car company executive said: “Dads feel more macho turning up to the hardware store in a ute than an SUV or a people mover”.
However, the sales surge is showing signs of a slowdown, with the second half of the year finishing weaker than the first half.
Customer research also shows fewer buyers are in the market for a new car in the next 12 months compared to the same period last year — which means sharper discounts are likely around the corner, to try to get people into showrooms.
Toyota was the top-selling brand for the 14th year in a row and the 20th year since 1991.
The last time Holden was number one was in 2002 and the last time Ford was our favourite brand was in 1997.
The Toyota HiLux, the top-seller outright in Queensland, West Australia and the Northern Territory for the past eight years in a row, started the year slowly but eventually overtook the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30 and Mazda3 small cars to take out the national sales title in a late dash to the finish line.
The Mazda3 was the top seller at the start of 2016 but was overtaken by the Corolla, Hyundai i30 and HiLux. Picture: Supplied.
The Corolla was Australia’s favourite car for the past three years in a row but it hit the brakes in the second half of 2016.
The HiLux was just 600 sales ahead of the Corolla by the end of November, but a shortage of Corolla stock — and unprecedented discounts on the HiLux so soon after the arrival of a new model — saw the workhorse surge ahead in December to take out the 2016 title.
The HiLux didn’t have a smooth ride to victory. It was challenged by the Ford Ranger ute, which edged ahead of the Toyota by the end of November in the 4WD ute category.
However, the more affordable HiLux “tradie” models outsold the equivalent Ranger by more than two-to-one, to deliver the HiLux an unbeatable tally overall.
Buoyed by low interest rates, Australians also treated themselves to a record number of luxury cars.
Sales of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche outpaced the market and posted record results.
Meanwhile Ford had its 14th month in a row of sales growth after 11 years of straight decline — even though it was the first of Australia’s three remaining car manufacturers to close its factories.
Sales of the Toyota Corolla slowed in the second half of the year. Picture: Supplied.
The news was not so good for former arch rival Holden, which posted its worst sales result in 25 years — ahead of its factory shutdown in late 2017.
After holding on to third place by the slimmest of margins in 2015, Holden was knocked out of the Top Three brands for the first time since it was established as General Motors-Holden in 1948, comfortably overtaken by South Korean car maker Hyundai every month in 2016.
Holden is set for another tough year ahead given almost half its sales comprised locally-made models in 2016.
Official car sales figures are due to be released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) on Thursday.
However, the data is not based on registrations. Instead it is based on sales claims made by dealers and car companies.
Although the same car cannot be counted twice, the figures don’t always reflect the month a vehicle is sold to a customer.
Industry experts say up to 10 per cent of cars reported as sold in fact don’t reach a customer until months later, and in some cases the following year.
The discrepancy has arisen because there is no enforceable code of conduct on the reporting of car sales numbers.
The Ford Ranger closed the gap to the Toyota HiLux in 2016. Picture: Supplied.
“Some car companies do the right thing and report their figures based on actual registrations, while others turn a blind eye as long as the dealer declares the vehicle as sold,” said a veteran car dealer with more than 20 years in the trade.
“The car companies are chasing sales targets set by their head office overseas, and when they don’t hit those targets, they hit the phones and plead with dealers to take more stock,” the major metropolitan dealer told News Corp Australia.
“The dealers end up getting choked with cars and it can take months or even more than a year to clear them, even though they’ve already been counted.”
Despite the relaxed definition of a “sold” car and a discrepancy of up to 10 per cent in the sales data, Commsec and the Australian Bureau of Statistics continue to interpret the car industry lobby group figures as an indicator of consumer confidence.
The FCAI says it would take too long to report registration data supplied by states and territories.
However other countries, such as New Zealand, publish government-sourced registration data immediately after the end of each month.
Australians bought a record number of new cars in 2016, but the market is slowing. Picture: News Corp Australia.
Top five selling cars in 2016:
Toyota HiLux: 42,104.
Toyota Corolla: 40,330.
Hyundai i30: 37,772.
Ford Ranger: 36,934.
Mazda3: 36,107.
Source: FCAI.
Our changing taste in cars:
1960 to 1981 — Holden sedan (various models).
1982 to 1988 — Ford Falcon.
1989 to 1991 — Holden Commodore.
1991 to 1995 — Ford Falcon.
1996 to 2010 — Holden Commodore.
2011 to 2012 — Mazda3.
2013 to 2015 — Toyota Corolla.
2016 — Toyota HiLux.
The race for number one in 2016: the year-to-date leaders:
January to March — Mazda3.
April and May — Toyota HiLux.
June and July — Hyundai i30.
August — Toyota HiLux.
September — Toyota Corolla.
October to December — Toyota HiLux.
RELATED:
Two factors that made the ute beaut.
THE UTE: A great Aussie invention.
< www.heraldsun.com.au/technology/ute-beau...1558befad4efce83c98b >, plus a 4.12.16 advance alert.

Orange truck looks like Mitsubishi Canter to me. I think the kink in the side window is more sloped on the Isuzu????

Love the Aussie ute invention story, particularly the one where a "pig farmer's" wife (they even give her a name) wrote to Ford asking for a truck during the week and a car on Sunday. No worries Madam, we will set up a full production line for pig farmers wives. Any number of photos of single unit style side utes all over the world from day one.

There are so many provisos on the claim it is a bit like the Guinness book of records. A world record has been awarded to Regis J. Schitenauer for being the first person to cross Flinders Street wearing a red shirt, polka dot underwear and green socks on a Tuesday when it is raining.

This is the Ford press release story.
www.caradvice.com.au/272090/ford-celebra...iversary-of-the-ute/

This looks like an Aussie ute to me way before Ford in 1929



The hide of Ford! This GM ad is from Australia It says body style designed and built in Australia - makes a farce of the Ford claim.




Lang

It's a bit like Holden claiming the 48-215 as Australia's first car. What about the Australian 6 from the 1920's. How does an American designed vehicle using moulds sent from America qualify as Australia's first car? Many other builders had been making cars long before then (Tarrant, Australian 6 etc)

Reckon you have to take published figures with a grain of salt, sometimes. Line from I think it was Medvedev's " Let history decide", on rampant alcoholism in the USSR during the Stalin years, alarming figures showed it running at 27%. Uncle Joe demanded better figures or heads would roll. Bean counters adjusted the figures accordingly, or their numbers would be added to the list! Must have worked as figures fell below 20% ! Dave

I believe this is a 20's model Rugby Town Car with the back cut off and turned into a ute. This vehicle is now on display at the Pioneer Park in Griffith NSW

The Ford technicality is they produced the first Coupe Utility so a fixed roof and a rear as an integral part of the body (like my XP). With the exception of the Pontiac picture these are all either soft tops or the tray body is separate from the cab (like the AU onwards fords, and most imported utes/trays).

It would be interesting to see if the real Pontiac ute matched the artists impression in the picture or if the artist left out the join/gap between the cab and the tub so it looked better.

No, the Pontiac was a continuous body. I have seen a real life photo and will try to pull one up.

Lang

thanks, I did a quick google and all that came up was either that ad (in various locations) or 1950's/60's ones.

How about an Essex?




Or a Chevrolet



Even Ford USA beat Australia.




How about a Hercules-Chevrolet