Toyota Hilux claims top spot in June new vehicle sales

The Toyota Hilux took out top spot in the new commercial vehicle segment. Photo: Liz Dobson

While the newly launched Suzuki Fronz made an impact in July's new vehicle registrations, it was Toyota’s Hilux ute results that surprised the industry with the newly released  Motor Industry Association figures.

Figures for July issued by the Motor Industry Association (MIA) record 11,671 new vehicles sold during the month, nearly par with 11,862 sold in June.  

The June total was a 26 percent uplift on the May figure of 10,251, and the year-on-year comparison also tells a positive story with July 2025 sales up 23.8 percent on July 2024’s 9,419 registrations.  

The all-new Suzuki Fronx SUV had 347 registrations in the passenger segment. Photo: Suzuki

Numbers of new vehicle registrations are compiled each month by the MIA, which represents the country’s new vehicle manufacturers and suppliers.  

MIA’s CEO Aimee Wiley says while the continued uplift is welcomed and encouraging, it will take several more months of similar sales levels before an improving trend can be confirmed.  

“It has been a challenging 18 months for our members in tight economic conditions, so it is good to see July sales holding steady with the June increase. It’s a sign that there may be some early signs of  confidence returning to the new vehicle market, but it’s probably too soon to break out the champagne just yet.”   

But Toyota will be breaking out the champagne as the Hilux ute knocked Ford’s perennial top spot Ranger from number one, albeit by only a few registrations.

The Toyota RAV4 is still number one in new passenger sales

The Hilux registered 868 sales, with the Ranger on 838 for the month. BYD’s Shark did not follow up its remarkable 413 result for June, falling from third place to fifth behind the Nissan Navara (416) and Mitsubishi Triton (276) with  256 registrations in July.  

Suzuki’s all-new compact SUV, Fronx, had 347 registrations in the passenger segment, but Toyota’s RAV4 dominated with 602 sales. The Mitsubishi Outlander with 307 sales sits in third place. Tesla, however, did not continue its strong June result, falling from 407 sales of its Model Y to 103 in July.

And in terms of electric vehicles, sales did not share the overall upwards momentum, with 638 registered during the month, compared with 1,073 in June. 

Plug-in hybrids recorded 749 sales compared with 912 in June. However, hybrid vehicles continued their run of success with 3,434 sales compared to 3,152 in June.