Where the Ford Ranger ranks among Australia's best-selling cars since 1997

The Ford Ranger looks set to become Australia’s best-selling new vehicle for 2024, barring a miracle for the Toyota RAV4 which has topped the sales charts in five out of 10 months so far this year.

To the end of October, Ford has delivered 53,119 Rangers (both 4×2 and 4×4) to Australian customers, an increase of almost eight per cent on the year prior in a market which has grown by just under three per cent.

Last year it broke a Toyota stranglehold which lasted a decade, dating back to the Corolla from 2013 to 2016, and then the Ranger’s arch-rival, the HiLux, between 2017 and 2022.

In finishing the year on top, the Ranger also delivered Ford its first end of year win since 1995, when the EF Falcon became the Blue Oval’s sales champion.

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Fast forward to now and the Ranger once again has a chance at making history.

If Ford can continue to deliver Rangers at the same rate as it has through 2024, it’ll not only eclipse last year’s sales figure but also record the highest sales for any vehicle since before the Global Financial Crisis.

Even Toyota couldn’t deliver more examples of either the Corolla or HiLux in any single year than what Holden achieved in 2008, when 64,542 Commodores were registered.

At the time, this was a mix of the new VE sedan – best known as Holden’s ‘billion dollar baby’ – as well as early versions of the new Ute (launched in August 2007) and Sportwagon.

Since 2008, no vehicle has eclipsed what the Commodore managed to achieve.

If you count the Ute towards the Commodore’s sales figures, Holden’s large car range lost its mantle as Australia’s best-selling vehicle in 2012 to the Mazda 3.

Without including the Ute (technically sold under a different name but still referred to as the Commodore), the Mazda overtook it in 2011.

Regardless of which year you count, no Holden ever sat atop the year-end sales charts again, breaking a streak that dated back to 1997 with the VT, and spanned across VX, VY, VZ and VE generations. The VF, the last Commodore built in Australia, never got to finish on top.

However, unless a miracle occurs in November and December, it’s unlikely the Ranger will reach the heights of the Commodore’s popularity, such as in 2003 when the VY (and its related Ute and Crewman) recorded a huge 103,764 deliveries – believed to be an all-time high.

It seems unlikely the Ranger will meet the Commodore’s peak market share of 12.5 per cent (set in 2001 with the VX), with Ford’s ute currently accounting for approximately five per cent of all new vehicle sales.

Note: Commodore sales from 1997 to 2002 include Commodore Utility. 2003 to 2011 included the Holden Ute, One Tonner and Crewman, where applicable. Without combining these, the Mazda 3 was the best-seller in 2011 with 41,429 sales.

MORE: VFACTS October 2024: Toyota RAV4 still on top as HiLux closes gap to Ranger