- Isuzu UTE Australia charts as the 11th best-selling vehicle brand of 2021, with 35,735 sold.
- D-MAX charts as the 7th best-selling vehicle in 2021, ranking 3rd in the 1-tonne Ute LCV segment with 25,117 vehicles delivered in 2021.
- MU-X retains #1 Ute-based SUV title for the eight-consecutive year, and charts in 2nd in the SUV Large < $70K segment, with 10,618 sold in 2021.
- 169,607 D-MAX and 61,370 MU-X delivered since November 2008.
2021 was a year like no other; a year of highs and lows, and everything in between. The new car market—like the real estate market—is often used to gauge the economy and consumer habits, with sales results an accurate reflection of the recovering market. Despite new car manufacturers challenged by ongoing supply chain constraints, many have managed to successfully navigate the choppy waters as the new car market recovered by 14.5 percent over 2020; with 1,049,831 new vehicles sold throughout the calendar year, as reported by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).
Riding that same wave of recovery, Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA), with two vehicles to the name; the D-MAX 1-tonne Ute and the MU-X 7-seat SUV, delivered an all-time record number of vehicles, chalking up 35,735 new vehicle sales in 2021—besting the marque's previous annual record of 27,640 vehicles sold in 2018—according to the FCAI report. Compared with the previous year's results, IUA grew by 61.6 percent—a result due to the successful introduction of the new-generation MU-X in August 2021 and the surging popularity of the D-MAX.
With the Australian new car market comprising of over 50 makes and 500 models, new car buyers are certainly not limited for choice. Throughout 2021, IUA charted as a top-ten selling brand across six out of twelve months: 9th in May, 10th in June, 8th in July, 9th in August, 8th in September, and 9th in December. While accounting for 3.4 percent of all new vehicles sold and frequenting the top-ten on multiple occasions, IUA finished up the year as Australia's 11th best-selling vehicle brand in 2021, outselling well-established marques including, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda, Suzuki, and Audi.
"Rounding out the year in 11th overall was quite an accomplishment for our young brand of two vehicles—a result only made possible thanks to our loyal Customers, whom have been patient and understanding as we meet the unprecedented levels of demand," said Isuzu UTE Australia Managing Director, Hiroyasu Sato.
"I'd like to take this moment to not only thank them for their patience and understanding, but to apologise to those customers waiting for their vehicle order—some of which have waited months for their vehicle. We look forward to welcoming them to the Isuzu family as soon as possible."
By the end of December 2021, an accumulative total of 169,607 D-MAX Utes and 61,370 MU-X SUVs have been delivered in Australia since 2008.
According to that same annual report, both SUVs and Utes have continued to top the shopping lists of Australian new car buyers—with the two segments responsible for over 71.8 percent of new vehicles sold within 2021.
One-in-five new vehicles sold in 2021 was a Ute; accounting for 21.2 percent of the market. Reflective of the popularity of these Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), a total of 25,117 new Isuzu D-MAX Utes were sold throughout the calendar year—representing a 12.4 percent share of the '1-tonne Ute LCV' segment. Updated with a new model in late-2020, the D-MAX grew in popularity to new heights, frequenting the monthly top-ten sales charts on 10 occasions throughout the year, and finishing the year as Australia's 7th best-selling vehicle of 2021. In fact, in June ’21, which is the traditional peak selling period of the year, D-MAX ranked as the 3rd best-selling model for that month.
In comparison to the previous year, the 25,117 D-MAX models sold equated to a growth of 66.8 percent over the 2020 sales results—over four and a half times the overall new car market's growth of 14.5 percent. Dissecting the segment further—between 4x2 and 4x4 drivetrains—reveals that the D-MAX was yet again the 2nd best-selling 4x2 Ute in Australia with 6,478 examples sold, outselling the Ford Ranger 4x2 by 2,185 vehicles.
Overall, the D-MAX with 25,117 models sold was Australia's 3rd best-selling Ute in 2021, ahead of the Mitsubishi Triton (19,232), Mazda BT-50 (15,662), Nissan Navara (15,113) and Volkswagen Amarok (7,659).
“The D-MAX has earned its place as one of Australia's top-selling vehicles of the year, and we couldn't be more grateful to the twenty-five-thousand customers that chose a D-MAX in 2021. With the 2022 D-MAX range now available, we look forward to welcoming more Ute buyers to the Isuzu family in 2022,” said Isuzu UTE Australia Director of Sales and Marketing, Koichiro Yoshida.
In 2021, over half of Australian new car buyers opted for an SUV; with 50.6 percent of buyers purchasing one from a selection of 150 different models. With Australians’ fondness for family-friendly SUVs at an all-time high, the Isuzu MU-X competes for new car buyers in a category of 28 different SUV models, the hotly contested ‘SUV Large < $70K’ segment. This segment accounts for one-in-ten of all new vehicles sold, and is responsible for 113,261 of the total annual volume sold. Compared with 2020, this segment saw an increase of 22,018 new vehicle sales—growing by 24.1 percent throughout 2021.
Sharing in this growth, the MU-X sold in record numbers throughout the year, with 10,618 examples finding new Australian homes for a 9.4 percent share of the segment. This new record sales figure for the Isuzu SUV nameplate was enough to elevate the MU-X into 2nd in the segment sales charts, outselling the Subaru Outback (10,490), Mazda CX-9 (6,630), and Ford Everest (8,359). More importantly against its direct-rivals in the ‘ute-based SUV’ segment, the MU-X has cemented its position as the top-selling ute-based SUV for the eight-consecutive year (2014-2021).
In August 2021, IUA launched the second-generation MU-X SUV, delivering 4,332 examples of the new-generation 7-seat SUV within the first five-months of sale (August 2021 – December 2021).
“The public's reception of the All-New MU-X has been incredibly positive, and we are proud to have seen the MU-X grow in popularity year-on-year to become one of the top-choices of Australians. What is quite remarkable is the fact that one-in-ten Large SUV buyers with a budget of up to $70,000 chose a new Isuzu MU-X in 2021.”
“While the MU-X has proved popular with over 10,000 delivered in 2021, milestones such as this would not have been possible if it weren’t for our Australian customers who have placed their trust in our vehicles—and I’d like to thank each and every one of them,” concluded, Mr Yoshida.
With demand for Utes and SUVs at an all-time high—due to their unrivalled practicality, versatility and as a dual-purpose solution for modern families with busy lifestyles—and IUA recently delivering its 230,000th vehicle in December 2021, another milestone for IUA looks to be just around the corner.
