Ford reigns supreme in 2025 4x4 sales

Ford has claimed top spot for the third year in a row, with the Ford Ranger Australia’s best-selling vehicle overall and the country’s top-selling 4×4 in 2025.

The Toyota HiLux finished second among 4x4s, but in the overall sales standings it was edged out by its stablemate, the Toyota RAV4 SUV.

“To have the Ford Ranger named Australia’s best-selling vehicle for the third consecutive year is a landmark moment for our brand, in a year when we proudly celebrated 100 years in Australia,” Ambrose Henderson, Marketing Director, Ford Australia said. “This is a clear validation of the hard working and talented Australian-based design and engineering team who are focused on delivering for our customers every day.”

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Ford also enjoyed a double celebration, with the Ford Everest finishing as the top-selling 4×4 wagon, edging out the Toyota LandCruiser Prado by just 55 units. It should be noted, however, that Everest sales figures include 4×2 variants, while Prado is offered as a 4×4-only model.

Toyota may have once again finished as Australia’s best-selling brand overall, but stock shortages and the timing of new-model launches for the Prado and HiLux impacted its 4×4 sales performance in 2025.

The BYD Shark firmly cemented its place among Australia’s favourite 4x4s in its first full year on sale. A regular fixture in the top-utes rankings, the Shark finished the year with more than 18,000 sales, placing it ahead of established rivals such as the Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi Triton, Mazda BT-50 and the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series (10,301 sales).

Those results helped make BYD one of Australia’s strongest-performing new brands, with the Shark also finishing the year as the country’s best-selling hybrid 4×4.

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A new entry to the 4×4 ranks in 2026 was the Kia Tasman midsize ute, but it had a disappointing introduction in the latter part of the year, selling just 3924 units in four months, despite being one of the best utes in its class to drive.

The Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series comfortably outsold its long-time rival, the Nissan Patrol Y62, with sales of 12,290 units to the Nissan’s 6263. Attention now turns to 2026, which will mark the final year of the Y62 and the end of the V8 Patrol, ahead of the arrival of the V6-powered Nissan Patrol Y63.

While Ford might have done well with its Ranger and Everest models, their big brother the F-150 didn’t fare so well in the full-size pick up market. With just 792 sales in 2025 it fell behind the Ram (2674 sales), Chevrolet Silverado (2209) and Toyota Tundra (837) in the 1500 class. Chevy also held the lead over RAM in the sale of HD pick-ups.

2026 promises more brands launching in Australia, along with a broader spread of new models. Significant additions to the 4×4 market will include the newly updated Toyota HiLux, which arrived in December, a Triton-based Nissan Navara, the BYD Shark-based Denza 4×4 wagon, and a growing number of new models featuring electrified drivetrains. At the top of the charts, it will be interesting to see how Ford’s top-selling models fare following the loss of the bi-turbo four-cylinder engine, relying instead on V6 and single-turbo four-cylinder powertrains. That said, the recently launched Ranger Super Duty variants should certainly help bolster the brand’s position.

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Top-selling 4x4s in December 2025

Source: VFACTS

Top-selling 4x4s in 2025

Source: VFACTS