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.
Pictured: 2025 Tesla Model Y
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.
Pictured: 2025 Ford Ranger PHEV
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.
Pictured: 2023 Toyota Corolla
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.
Pictured: 2025 Chery Tiggo 4
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.
Pictured: 2025 Kia Tasman
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.
Pictured: 2025 BYD Shark 6
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 |