Toyota Prado, HiLux outsell Ford rivals as BYD challenge fades

The Toyota LandCruiser Prado outsold its arch-rival, the Ford Everest, in July as Toyota surged past 100,000 sales year-to-date and fended off BYD's challenge from the previous month.

Last year, the Everest beat the Prado by just 55 sales across 12 months, with the Ford finishing on 26,161 deliveries as the pair battled for supremacy in the large off-road SUV segment.

The Everest first knocked the Prado from top spot in 2024, when the previous-generation Prado was being run out ahead of the current model's arrival in Australian showrooms that November.

It made the Everest's repeat victory in 2025 even more impressive, given the current-generation Ford had received no significant update since launching in 2022.

The Prado struck back in July 2026, with 2082 deliveries against the Everest's 1697. So far this year, the Everest has come out on top in January, February, May and June, while the Prado has overtaken it in March, April and July.

The Everest still holds a healthy year-to-date lead with 12,830 sales, 1646 ahead of the Prado's 11,184. That advantage has no doubt been helped by the June arrival of the updated MY26.5 Everest, which brought incentives including discounts of up to $3000.

Backing up the Prado's success was the Toyota HiLux, which recorded 4721 sales to finish ahead of the Ford Ranger's 4042 for the first time since October 2025.

Breaking the battle down further, the HiLux 4x2 comfortably outsold the Ranger 4x2, recording 602 sales against 215 in July. Year-to-date, Toyota has sold 3347 HiLux 4x2s compared to the Ranger's 1707.

The HiLux also edged ahead in 4x4 sales during July, recording 4119 deliveries against the Ranger's 3827. Ford, however, remains well ahead year-to-date, with 28,649 Ranger 4x4 sales compared to the HiLux's 23,981.

Combined 4x2 and 4x4 sales still leave the Ranger comfortably ahead overall, with 30,356 deliveries year-to-date compared to the HiLux's 27,328. That has reduced the gap to 3028 vehicles, down from the 5258-sales margin Ford enjoyed in 2025.

The result came despite the Ranger receiving its own MY26.5 update, which also introduced discounts of up to $4000 following record diesel prices. Ford also significantly reduced prices across its hybrid range, including announcing a new Ranger Hybrid XL that lowered the electrified ute's entry price by almost $12,000 to $59,000 drive-away.

Ford's sales push helped the Ranger record its strongest July result since 2024, when 4915 examples were delivered, compared with 3930 in July 2025.

The HiLux is not yet offered with a full-hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain, though Toyota introduced the battery-electric HiLux BEV in May in limited numbers, primarily targeting fleet customers. In the same month, it announced a higher gross vehicle mass (GVM) option aimed at the Ranger Super Duty.

The two Toyotas played a supporting role to the RAV4 SUV, which returned to the top of the Australian sales charts for the first time in three months with 5564 deliveries, following the first Australian customer deliveries of the new RAV4 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in late June.

Ford Australia stopped selling the Escape, its closest RAV4 rival, in 2023, before the model was also discontinued in the United States after the 2026 model year. Ford CEO Jim Farley has said the company could not make money in the mainstream two-row SUV segment, though it still offers the Bronco Sport in that market, while the Escape lives on in Europe under the Kuga nameplate.

Toyota's success in July came despite the RAV4 not carrying a five-star ANCAP safety rating, limiting its eligibility for some government and commercial fleet buyers.

The result also increased Toyota's advantage over BYD after the Chinese brand came within 243 sales of the market leader in June. Toyota recorded 20,409 sales in July, comfortably ahead of BYD's 7857.

"It's fantastic to see the increased supply coming into Australia to satisfy customer demand, which has been a real focus for Toyota," Toyota Australia vice president of sales John Pappas said.

"We are experiencing sustained, strong customer demand across our product range, which we believe will keep us on track to achieving 230,000 sales by the end of the year.

"And pleasingly, more than half of all vehicles sold in July featured electrified powertrain technology, showing Toyota's multi-pathway approach of offering customers the right powertrain to suit their lifestyle."

Toyota Australia delivered 239,863 vehicles in 2025, down 0.6 per cent on its record 2024 result of 241,296 sales, the highest annual total achieved by any automaker in Australian history.

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