Australians have gotten more and more obsessive about huge American-sourced full-sized pickup vans that make a Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux look… diminutive.
On the halfway level of 2023, no nook of the brand new automobile market has grown its gross sales sooner than ‘Pickups Over $100,000‘, which is up a whopping 65.4 per cent year-to-date.
Australians have taken supply of 5724 of those behemoths this yr, led overwhelmingly by the Ram 1500 vary with 3697 items YTD – for context that’s greater than the Nissan Navara 4×4 (3474).
Its arch nemesis is the Chevrolet Silverado, which has racked up 1015 gross sales YTD, which for some context is greater than double the haul managed by the Jeep Gladiator.
Each the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado use thirsty petrol V8 engines, supply braked-trailer towing capacities of as much as 4.5-tonnes, and are about 10 per cent longer than one thing like a Ranger.
Rounding out this burgeoning section (for now) are even greater and burlier heavy obligation diesel fashions designed to tow correctly big hundreds: the Silverado HD (553 gross sales YTD), and Ram 2500/3500 (459 gross sales).
The Ram and Chevy fashions are offered by totally different corporations however have a key side in frequent – specifically they’re re-engineered for right-hand drive by Melbourne firm Walkinshaw at its native manufacturing traces.
There was an aftermarket business for RHD re-engineering for a while (by the likes of Performax), but it surely’s now occurring at a scale that’s scarcely plausible, with full manufacturing facility backing and all that brings to a buyer when it comes to ease-of-purchase, and reassurance.
The sturdy outcomes have given Ram Vans, a part of Stellantis, the assumption Australia will change into an ever-larger supply of exports. Ram Worldwide boss Bob Graczyk visited Melbourne just lately to see the expanded manufacturing facility and stated demand had “utterly exceeded our expectations”.
“10,000 autos [per year] is now lifelike – who is aware of, we may go as much as 15 or 20,000 items. The acceptance of full-size pick-up vans by Australians is simply phenomenal,” he stated.
For its half, Common Motors Australia likewise sees no slowing in demand for the Chevy Silverado. Actually it predicts a “vital enhance” in throughput going ahead, having just lately moved to a brand new brand-specific remanufacturing facility within the industrial suburb of Dandenong.
“… The brand new devoted remanufacturing facility will allow improved flexibility and capability, with a major enhance within the variety of Silverados coming off the road,” stated GMSV Director Joanne Stogiannis.
The raging success and fats revenue margins that include it, have prompted not less than two extra large gamers to enter the fray themselves.
Ford Australia will promote its iconic F-150 right here from the third quarter of 2023, re-engineered by world associate agency RMA Automotive at a brand new facility north of Melbourne, about 70km from the Walkinshaw manufacturing facility in Clayton. Its six-figure pricing is detailed right here.
The corporate makes no bones concerning the reality sturdy Silverado and Ram gross sales are behind its determination to carry the F-150 again to Australia after a prolonged absence. The automobile will probably be backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee, and will probably be offered and serviced by way of the Ford Australia community.
Not like its American pickup rivals with their V8 engines, the F-150 will probably be powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine however gives related energy, torque and towing figures.
MORE: Ram to assist Australian distributor keep aggressive towards F-150
The fourth horseman of the regular-size ute apocalypse would be the Toyota Tundra. The corporate’s native arm additionally makes use of Walkinshaw for re-engineering, and plans to place lots of of transformed Tundras into punters’ arms for real-world suggestions to iron out any kinks.
The mission to regionally re-engineer Tundras to right-hand drive (they’re solely made on the American manufacturing facility in left-hand drive) for 2024 gross sales is a world-first for Toyota, and can give the corporate’s native division one thing to sit down above the HiLux and LandCruiser 300 Sequence.
“It’s the primary supplier assembly I can recall in lots of a long time the place I’ve heard whistling, cheering and 400 and one thing folks in a room actually excited, as we’re,” Toyota Australia vice chairman of gross sales, advertising and franchise operations Sean Hanley informed CarExpert.
The RHD Tundras will run a segment-unique hybrid drivetrain that ought to make them barely much less of a guzzler than rivals. It pairs a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine (featured within the LandCruiser 300 abroad) and a motor/battery/energy management unit.
Electrical potential!
Whereas critics level out that these beasts are each huge and hardly the final phrase in eco-friendliness, there’s large potential for them to beat the market’s Thai-made diesel utes within the race to electrification.
As an example after the Ram 1500 REV drove onto the stage of the 2023 New York motor present, the corporate confirmed the all-electrical pickup will probably be coming to Australia, albeit in all probability in late 2024. On this theme there’s additionally a Chevy Silverado EV Stateside, unveiled in January 2022.
Ford Australia boss Andrew Birkic informed us the much-hyped F-150 Lightning EV can also be on the want record, though the model is working to get the petrol F-150 vary off the bottom first.
Gross sales of 4×4 utes in Australia January to June 2023:
- Ford Ranger – 23,620
- Toyota Hilux – 21,808
- Isuzu D-Max – 10,787
- Mazda BT-50 – 7866
- Mitsubishi Triton – 7354
- GWM Ute – 5291
- Toyota LandCruiser 70 – 5052
- LDV T60 – 4822
- Ram 1500 – 3697
- Nissan Navara – 3474
- Volkswagen Amarok – 2202
- Ssangyong Musso – 2036
- Chevrolet Silverado – 1015
- Chevrolet Silverado HD – 553
- Jeep Gladiator – 467
- RAM 2500 – 423
- RAM 3500 – 36
