HiLux beats Ranger, Everest pips Prado, and Tesla stumbles in record July for new car sales

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Utes and large 4WDs helped push new-car sales to a July record, as the Toyota HiLux closed the gap to the Ford Ranger in the race to be 2025’s most popular vehicle.

New-vehicle registrations reached 103,097 last month, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI). The figure already surpasses July 2024’s 102,181, though grows to 104,244 with the addition of Tesla and Polestar sales – 917 and 230 units, respectively – which are reported separately by the Electric Vehicle Council. 

New-financial-year discounts offered by several brands in July no doubt contributed to the strong result.

The Toyota Hilux led July with a sales posting of 4676. The Toyota RAV4 took second place with 4415 sales, and Ford’s Ranger snagged third with 3930 sales. 

Ranger remains Australia’s best selling vehicle year to date, with a total volume of 32,241 sold, though the HiLux has closed the gap.

The Ranger’s SUV twin, Everest, scored fourth place with 2425 registrations, pipping key rival Toyota Prado by just 86 units.

Toyota’s LandCruiser was only 17 units behind its (slightly) smaller sibling, with 2322 registrations.

Another Toyota, the Corolla, was the token Top 10 appearance for a passenger car, a segment that continues to decline.

The biggest surprise, however, was the Chery Tiggo 4 compact SUV, which posted more than 2000 sales (2065) last month.

Chery’s Tiggo 4 is priced from $23,990 drive-away to be one of Australia’s cheapest SUVs.

Toyota unsurprisingly remains as Australia’s best selling brand, accounting for one fifth of the entire car market with a year-to-date (YTD) sales figure of 142,700.

Competition for YTD second place grows closer still: Mazda’s 56,394 sales marginally top Ford’s 54,579 figure – just 1815 sales separate the two brands. Ford fell out of the top 3 in July – only the second month it has missed the podium in 2025.

Kia took third place, on the brand podium for only the second time this year.

It sits fourth YTD, though it will be fascinating to see how the new Tasman ute helps build its sales results going forward.

Sister brand Hyundai sits fifth overall (45,635 YTD), with Mitsubishi sixth (38,362 YTD). 

Isuzu finds itself battling amongst Chinese brands at the tail end of Australia’s top 10. It posted a figure of 25,869 sales YTD, losing out to GWM’s 29,910 sales and BYD’s 27,962. Isuzu pipped 10th place MG’s 24,682 posting by 1187 sales. 

Both MG and GWM are undoubtedly market mainstays in Australia, and BYD continues to surprise. The prolific Chinese brand has seen exceptional growth in the Oz market following its 2022 debut. 

Nine of Australia’s top 10 vehicles were either a ute or SUV. Utes comprise 20.2 percent of the total passenger vehicle market, while SUVs remain on top with 60.2 percent. Passenger vehicle sales continue to shrink, dropping from 17.8 to 13.4 percent year-to-date.

Australian top 10 brands for July 2025

Rank	Vehicle	July ‘25 sales	July ‘24 sales
1	Toyota HiLux	4676	4747
2	Toyota RAV4	4415	5933
3	Ford Ranger	3930	4915
4	Ford Everest	2425	2162
5	Isuzu Ute D-Max	2351	2369
6	Toyota Prado	2339	21
7	Toyota Landcruiser	2322	2464
8	Chery Tiggo 4 Pro	2065	0
9	Toyota Corolla	1963	2688
10	Hyundai Tucson	1914	1622