Toyota HiLux 2013 News

Buying a used car is difficult enough in normal times.

Toyota Motor Corporation Australia (TMCA) has said that approximately 71.7 per cent of its vehicles caught up in the Takata airbag recall had already been rectified.

A Federal Court case has been launched against unscrupulous importers of bogus brake pads as Toyota tries to locate the dodgy parts.

Toyota HiLux tops the list of Australia’s most stolen cars

Aussie car fans and nostalgia buffs will tell you that local motoring reached its peak in the 1970s.

The Corolla was finally crowned Australia's favourite car in 2013 after 46 years in the market -- but you won't hear about it from Toyota. The car giant, which has been the overall market leader for 11 years in a row and 17 years since 1991 but never had the top-selling vehicle, is going to follow Mazda's lead by not advertising the Corolla's sales success."There are no plans at this stage," said Toyota Australia executive director of sales and marketing, Tony Cramb, when asked if the company would advertise the Corolla's historic win.Mazda also gave us the silent treatment when its Mazda3 small car took top sales honours in 2011 and 2012. It is suspected Mazda didn't want to boast that it ended the iconic Holden Commodore's record 15-year winning streak.But it turns out both Toyota and Mazda are wary of their success. Insiders from both companies admit popularity can work against them if they cars are seen as being everywhere. "People want to be seen to be driving something different, not be part of the pack," said one insider.Mazda was also keen to distance itself from the Corolla, which has a reputation for blandness because older models were better known for their reliability than their current styling pizazz.However, it may come as a shock to many Mazda buyers but more Mazda3 small cars were sold in Australia in the past three years than the Corolla. Figures from the car makers show that only 40 per cent of Corollas are bought by private buyers, compared to more than 80 per cent of Mazda3s.Toyota is only the fourth brand in 60 years to win the Australian new-car sales race; the others being Mazda, Holden and Ford. It was the third year in a row Japanese cars have led the Australian car market; locally-made models have been the top sellers since WWI, say automotive historians.The Corolla is the world's biggest selling car, with more than 40 million on the road worldwide, including more than 1.25 million delivered in Australia since 1967.The Corolla was built in Australia from 1968 to 1999, becoming the first Toyota ever assembled outside Japan, but production ended because it became too costly to build small cars locally. The model is now made in 15 factories in 14 countries including Japan, Canada, South America, Turkey, Pakistan, Venezuela, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Taiwan, India, and two factories in China.The Corolla won the 2013 new-car sales race after swapping the monthly sales lead three times with reigning champion the Mazda3 – the Mazda led the first three months of the year before the Corolla landed its first win for 2013 in April, and then led the year-to-date tally for the first time in June. In the end, the Corolla was the top selling car for eight months of the year, including the last four in a row.Incredibly, it was only the Corolla's fifth-best result (record was 47,792 set in 2007), another sign of the fragmenting market that is killing local car manufacturing. The Corolla earned top-seller status despite selling less than half the Holden Commodore's annual peak.Korean car maker Hyundai ranked fourth overall but was the second-biggest seller of passenger cars in Australia in 2013. Mercedes-Benz won the luxury car sales category, outselling BMW and Audi. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan was the third best-selling medium-size sedan behind the Toyota Camry and Mazda6.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowlingTop 10 cars 2013Toyota Corolla 43,498 up 12.1 per centMazda3 42,082 down 4.6 per centToyota HiLux 39,931 down 1.7 per centHyundai i30 30,582 up 7.9 per centHolden Commodore 27,766 down 9.1 per centToyota Camry 24,860 down 8.7 per centMitsubishi Triton 24,512 up 32.4 per centHolden Cruze 24,421 down 16.3 per centNissan Navara 24,108 down 7.4 per centFord Ranger 21,752 down 7.2 per centTop 10 brands 2013Toyota 214,630 down 1.6 per centHolden 112,059 down 2.3 per centMazda 103,144 down 0.7 per centHyundai 97,006 up 6.0 per centFord 87,236 down 3.5 per centNissan 76,733 down 3.8 per centMitsubishi 71,528 up 21.5 per centVolkswagen 54,892 stable 0.0 per centSubaru 40,200 stable 0.0 per centHonda 39,258 up 9.6 per centFalcon and Commodore hit new all-time lows in 2013Ford Falcon: 10,610 (compared to a peak of 81,000 in 1995)Holden Commodore: 27,766 (compared to a peak of 94,500 in 1998)A decade of record sales2004: 955,2292005: 988,2692006: 962,6662007: 1,049,9822008: 1,012,1642009: 937,3282010: 1,035,5742011: 1,008,4372012: 1,112,0322013: 1,136,227Locally made cars: then and now1999: 223,083 (including 184,000 Commodores and Falcons)2013: 118,510 (down 15 per cent on 2012, and the lowest since 1958) 

Fast forward. The year is 2020. The last Falcon left the production line over four years ago and it was joined by the last Commodore not long after. Toyota's local operation has also been looking pretty shaky, because the departure of Ford and Holden from the production scene has driven up the cost of parts. Toyota is hanging on, thanks to the extra exports it picked up from Holden - but by the skin of its teeth.No more Falcons or Commodores of course means no more utes either, V8 or otherwise - what's a buyer supposed to do? It's time for a reality check. The missus isn't happy because the beaut VF you bought six years ago has been playing up and will need updating sooner than later (tomorrow if the ball and chain has her way).The question is: what to buy? A hybrid or an electric vehicle maybe or perhaps one of those new-fangled hydrogen jobs - they're supposed to be pretty good on gas? At this point in time, the figures suggest your next car will probably be a Corolla or a Mazda3, because as much as we profess to love them buyers have been deserting the big family six for years while sales of smaller cars and SUVs have continued to rise. That's on paper.But can you really see some big boofy bloke stepping out of an XR6 or V8-powered SS Commodore into one of these econo-boxes? The clock is ticking and it is time to choose. The top 5 selling vehicles in Australia as we speak are: the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Hyundai i30, Toyota Hilux and the Holden Cruze in that order. Forced to choose which one what would you buy if you had to for out for a new set of wheels tomorrow? Will it be one of these vehicles or perhaps a WRX, an EVO or something else with a bit of street cred? 

New-car buyers hit the brakes in September and another 1.1 million-plus annual sales record is now under threat. Industry analysts are trying to determine what caused the September slowdown after six of the top 10 brands posted sales slides and the overall market dropped by 2.1 per cent to 92,662 deliveries compared with the same month last year.The last time the Australian new-car market slowed dramatically was in December 2011, when sales fell by 4.8 per cent after floods in Thailand and a catastrophic tsunami in Japan earlier that year severely restricted vehicle production.The weak September result means market growth has slowed to 3.3 per cent year-to-date, with 849,944 deliveries since January, putting another record annual result in doubt.After last year’s all-time high of 1,112,032 sales the new-car market was up by 5 per cent in the first half of this year.Car executives are trying to determine if the market is still experiencing the flow-on effect from the uncertainty caused by sudden changes to Fringe Benefits Tax rules before the Federal election -- or if the election itself did most of the damage.New-car sales dipped in the lead-up to four of the last five Federal elections, industry figures show. "The announcement by the Coalition to return to pre-July FBT arrangements has been welcomed by the industry," said Tony Weber, the chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries."We anticipate the market effect of this announcement will see positive growth throughout the rest of the year. Consumers can be confident that the recent FBT issue is now behind us."The September slowdown still came as a surprise given that interest rates fell to a new low and improved car affordability.Sales in the main mining states -- Queensland, West Australia and the Northern Territory -- were down by between 5.5 and 8.2 per cent, but sales of utes were still strong, with three workhorses finishing inside the top 10. The Toyota HiLux was the second-biggest seller in September while the Nissan Navara and Ford Ranger placed seventh and eighth respectively.Meanwhile the Toyota Corolla has developed a clear lead in the race to become Australia’s top-selling car for the first time. The Corolla has now built a gap of 1258 sales -- its largest to date -- ahead of two-times winner, the Mazda3, in the year-to-date tally (Corolla: 32,039, Mazda3: 30,781).The Mazda3 led the market at the start of the year and seemed certain to collect its third win in a row, but the Corolla overtook its fellow Japanese import as Australia’s favourite car in April, June, July and September.In another upset the Volkswagen Golf outsold the locally-made Holden Cruze by one delivery, with the Holden only just managing to stay inside the top 10 after a disappointing month.Holden posted 1851 Cruze deliveries (compared to the Golf’s tally of 1852) which was down 5 per cent on the same month in 2012, and down by 37 per cent compared to September 2011.The Golf’s result was buoyed by $22,990 drive-away promotional pricing but it also shows that Volkswagen appears to have bounced back from the recall controversy earlier this year. Last month’s result was strong for the Volkswagen Golf but still nowhere near its all-time high figure of 3337 sales set in October 2011.The homegrown Falcon and Commodore posted modest sales recoveries, but both were well short of their former glory. Holden again delivered more than 2800 Commodores (up 13 per cent) while Ford shifted 846 Falcons, which was down 28 per cent compared to the same month last year but an increase of 47.6 after the previous month’s all-time low.The reigning champion Mazda3 had a big sales slide in September after the company brought its annual sale forward a month. Toyota is on track to post its 11th year as the top-selling brand with 158,793 sales year to date, ahead of second-placed Holden (81,904). In third place Mazda (78,252) still has a comfortable margin over fourth-placed Hyundai (72,599) and fifth-placed Ford (64,964).Nissan sales continued to slide for the third month in a row but its results of 59,460 so far this year is up by 1.2 per cent after benefitting from strong gains earlier in the year. Nissan Australia is looking for its third boss in less than two years after Bill Peffer announced he was leaving the company.Top 10 brands in September 2013Toyota 17,492 -- up 1.1 per centHolden 9614 -- up 7.4 per centHyundai 8803 -- up 12.6 per centMazda 7615 -- down 24.6 per centFord 7505 -- down 3.3 per centMitsubishi 5993 -- up 3.3 per centNissan 5556 -- down 10.8 per centVolkswagen 4466 -- down 9.8 per centSubaru 2752 -- down 14.3 per centKia 2534 -- down 7.7 per centTop 10 cars in September 2013Toyota Corolla 3443 – up 9.9 per centToyota HiLux 3340 – down 3.9 per centMazda3 3052 – down 28.6 per centHolden Commodore 2865 – up 13.3 per centHyundai i30 2675 – down 14.9 per centToyota Camry 2223 – down 1.9 per centNissan Navara 2275 – up 25.3 per centFord Ranger 2037 – up 13.1 per centVolkswagen Golf 1852 – up 8.1  per centHolden Cruze 1851 – down 5.1 per centSource: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, VFACTS.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

It's not hard to track it back, since the Commodore VY II update in 2003 included the four-door Holden Crewman. The back-seat space was upright and cramped, and the ute tray was stunted, but it tapped a growing need for work-and-play utes.The Crewman was culled at the same time as Holden killed its Commodore wagon and, in reality, it never made commercial sense and was never properly costed against the potential return. But people who like the Crewman really love it, and now there are more and more people looking for the same sort of combination in their car.The new generation of four-door utes can really be all things to most people, since they can also be loaded with four-wheel drive on one side and sports packs on the other. Engine choices often run from basic fours to sweet sixes and torque-alicious turbodiesels.They are, in short, the ultimate crossover. And they don't just cross over, they blur the lines between cars and trucks. The popularity of double-cab utes has made them one of the country's boom categories, with showroom action only triumphed by SUVs and small cars.There are plenty of VFacts sales numbers to confirm the rise and climb of the ute, but the Roy Morgan research group recently did some sums that show there are 300,000 more one-tonne ute drivers today than there were just five years ago. Australians are now 30 per cent more likely to be driving a work-and-play ute in 2013 than they were in 2008.Roy Morgan also has interesting demographic data that shows ute drivers are wealthier than they were, with one-in-three now earning more than $70,000 a year compared with one-in-five in 2008.Tellingly, ute drivers are now more likely to describe themselves as big spenders, where they were far less likely to see themselves that way in 2008. That could help explain the tendency to splash on top-end utes.The Toyota HiLux is still the most popular pickup in the country, but Ford is doing extremely well with its Ranger - the Carsguide choice in the class - and now reports a waiting list up to four months for the XLT double cab despite prices starting at $34,990 for the XL.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

So much for the push towards greener cars. In automotive terms Australia is about to become the 51st state of the USA.Australians are moving closer to North Americans in their taste in vehicles. For the first time ever there is now almost an exact 50:50 split between the sales of passenger cars – and utes and SUVs. The same ratio seen for decades in pick-up and SUV-loving USA. Twenty years ago passenger cars accounted for more than 70 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia.Official figures released today confirm January 2013 was the strongest start to a year in Australian automotive history, eclipsing 85,000 deliveries for the first time – and the previous January record set in 2008 before the Global Financial Crisis.The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries reports 41,957 passenger cars were delivered in January compared to 41,595 utes, vans and SUVs – a slim gap of 362 sales, or the equivalent of just three days of deliveries for the top-selling car, the Mazda3.“The trend towards SUVs and away from classic passenger cars is all to do with their style and versatility and mass-acceptability,” says David Chalke, a cultural change analyst with AustraliaScan. “Everybody’s doing it, there’s now a fear of being left out.”Chalke says SUVs are no longer the heathens of the road thanks to their new levels of fuel-efficiency. “The new ones use comparatively so little fuel most people don’t think they’re driving a 4WD,” he said. “In fact in many cases they’re not. They are often two-wheel-drive with the appearance of a 4WD.”FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says the mining boom is also driving ute and SUV sales. “Part of is the mining boom, part of it is private buyers seeking new levels of flexibility and cars that better suit their needs.”Australia’s three local car makers – Toyota, Holden and Ford – failed to cash-in. January is typically a slow month for sales of locally-made cars but they dropped by 28 per cent to an all-new low.Just 2722 Australian made cars were delivered in January – which means the combined sales of the Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon, Ford Territory, Toyota Camry and Toyota Aurion ranked third -- an unprecedented status. Mazda3 was the top-selling car (3345 sales), followed by the Toyota Corolla (2960), the Toyota Hilux (2747), and the Nissan Navara (2474).The Ford Focus (2364) had its best month ever -- and helped drive Ford to a 33 per cent sales increase – but it outsold the Falcon by three-to-one. The Falcon (778 deliveries) is now selling at the same rate as the Mitsubishi 380 in the year before the factory closed. Ford’s Broadmeadows throughput is topped up by the production of Territory (up 44 per cent) and ute (down 22 per cent), but sales of both models are well down from their peaks.Holden says it has scaled back production of the Commodore (1650 deliveries) ahead of a new model due in showrooms in June. Toyota sold just 557 Camrys and 227 Aurion V6 sedans (down 57 and 77 per cent respectively). The FCAI’s Weber dismissed the weak sales of locally mades cars as “just one bad month, let’ see where it goes”. “We’re going to continue to see more and more market segmentation,” Weber said. “We won’t see just one car reach the massive volumes of years past.”In other highlights:Toyota was down 5 per cent but is set to lead the market for the 11th year in a row;Mazda outsold Holden to be second in the market for the fourth time ever (previous monthly second-placings: April, September and Dec 2012);Nissan is closing-in on Ford, less than 500 sales behind, threatening to push the Blue Oval brand to sixth;Honda had a blinder month, up 141 per cent from a low base – but still well down on its best year;Audi outsold BMW for the fourth January (previous wins were in ’09, ’11, ’12) and the sixth time ever (after previous wins in Feb ’11, Oct ’11) but Mercedes was top luxury brand;Sales of passenger cars fell by 1 per cent in a market that grew 11 per cent driven by surges in utes (up 43 per cent) and SUVs (up 20 per cent);The delivery of 1878 heavy trucks (up 10 per cent) takes January tally to 85,430.Top selling cars in January 2013Mazda3 3345Toyota Corolla 2960Toyota HiLux 2747Nissan Navara 2474Ford Focus 2364Hyundai i30 2006Holden Captiva 2155Mazda2 1665Holden Commodore 1650Holden Cruze 1630Mazda CX5 1625Top selling brands in January 2013Toyota 13,375 down 4.9pcMazda 8912 up 5.1pcHolden 8811 down 2.8pcFord 7721 up 32.3pcNissan 7248 up 35 pcHyundai 6816 up 4.7pcMitsubishi 4449 down 2.6pcVolkswagen 3824 up 13.6pcHonda 3816 up 141pcSubaru 3104 down 3.2pcThis reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling