VFACTs February 2025: Shark jumps in to the pond but Ranger still rules

Going by the number of them you see on the road, it should come as no surprise that the BYD Shark has leapt into the new 4×4 sales charts and straight in to the top five sellers for the month with 2026 of the new 4×4 utes finding their way to owners. With a long list of features and sharp pricing it will be interesting to see what BYD can achieve over the coming months as the shark attack get in to full swing.

The new Chinese brand still has a way to go before it challenges the market leaders in Ranger and Hilux but it has them firmly in their sights.

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Ranger continues to be Australia’s top-selling 4×4 so far this year with 3782 of them going out to buyers in February. Ford also announced pricing and details of its own PHEV Ranger to dampen the Shark bite so we’ll see how that battle ensues.

Hilux remains a consistent seller with 3099 of them hitting the streets while Toyota’s new Prado continues its comeback with the 250 Series selling 2723 units. Toyota is selling every Prado it can get in to the country at the moment but we are hearing that, depending on what model you’re after, there are cars available to drive away from dealers now. It seems the high-spec Prados like the Altitude and Kakadu still have long wait times.

Speaking of big wagons, February was a particularly slow month for Land Cruiser 300 with just 292 being sold compared to the Nissan Patrol which moved 522 units. This puts the Patrol ahead of Land Cruiser sales for the year with 1443 Patrols sold so far to just 705 Cruisers. We’re sure the Toyota dealers will say it’s because all the buyers are getting in to new Prados.

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Great Wall Motors is looking to raise its stake in the ute market with the updated Cannon going on sale this month. As it sits, the Cannon is just outside the top 10 selling 4x4s to date in 11th place. With 1190 units sold this year, look for this to come up as the new model appears in dealers.

Also hitting the market soon is the RAM 1500 with the new inline six-cylinder turbo petrol engine.It seems owners have flocked to get the last of the Hemi V8 powered RAMs with 224 of them fining homes, compared to 155 Ford F-150s, 99 Chevy Silverados, and just 78 Toyota Tundras. It will be interesting to see how the new six-cylinder RAM is received, leaving the Chevy as the only V8 sold in the 1500 class here in Australia.