The Toyota LandCruiser Prado surpassed its main competitor, the Ford Everest, during July as Toyota exceeded 100000 sales for the year to date and held off BYD following the prior month's pressure.

In the previous year the Everest edged the Prado by only 55 units over the full 12 months, finishing with 26161 deliveries after the two models fought closely in the large off-road SUV category.

The Everest first displaced the Prado from the leading position in 2024 while the prior-generation Prado was being phased out ahead of the new model's launch in Australian dealerships that November.

This made the Everest's repeat success in 2025 even more notable since the current Ford model had seen no major changes since its 2022 introduction.

The Prado responded in July 2026 by posting 2082 deliveries compared with the Everest's 1697. Year to date the Everest has led in January, February, May and June, whereas the Prado has taken the lead in March, April and July.

The Everest maintains a solid year-to-date advantage at 12830 sales, 1646 units clear of the Prado's 11184. That margin received support from the June launch of the updated MY26.5 Everest, which included offers such as reductions of as much as 3000 dollars.

The Prado's performance was matched by the Toyota HiLux, which achieved 4721 sales and finished ahead of the Ford Ranger's 4042 for the first time since October 2025.

Looking closer at the figures, the HiLux 4x2 outsold the Ranger 4x2 by a wide margin with 602 units against 215 in July. Year to date Toyota has delivered 3347 HiLux 4x2 models compared with the Ranger's 1707.

The HiLux also moved ahead in 4x4 sales for July with 4119 deliveries versus the Ranger's 3827. Ford nevertheless holds a clear year-to-date lead with 28649 Ranger 4x4 sales against the HiLux's 23981.

When 4x2 and 4x4 totals are combined the Ranger still leads overall with 30356 deliveries year to date against the HiLux's 27328. This has narrowed the difference to 3028 vehicles from the 5258-unit margin Ford held in 2025.

The outcome occurred even though the Ranger received its own MY26.5 update that brought reductions of up to 4000 dollars after high diesel prices. Ford also cut prices on its hybrid lineup and introduced a new Ranger Hybrid XL that reduced the electrified ute's starting price by nearly 12000 dollars to 59000 drive-away.

Ford's efforts enabled the Ranger to post its strongest July performance since 2024 when 4915 units were sold, compared with 3930 in July 2025.

The HiLux does not yet offer a full-hybrid or plug-in hybrid option, although Toyota launched the battery-electric HiLux BEV in May in limited volumes aimed mainly at fleet buyers. That same month the brand announced a higher gross vehicle mass choice aimed at the Ranger Super Duty.

The two Toyota models supported the RAV4 SUV, which returned to the top of the Australian sales charts for the first time in three months with 5564 deliveries after initial customer handovers of the new RAV4 plug-in hybrid began in late June.

Ford Australia ended sales of the Escape, its nearest RAV4 rival, in 2023 before the model was also withdrawn in the United States after the 2026 model year. Ford CEO Jim Farley noted the company could not profit in the mainstream two-row SUV segment, although it continues to offer the Bronco Sport there while the Escape persists in Europe as the Kuga.

Toyota's July result came even though the RAV4 lacks a five-star ANCAP safety rating, which restricts its access for certain government and commercial fleet customers.

The performance also widened Toyota's lead over BYD after the Chinese brand closed to within 243 sales of the market leader in June. Toyota recorded 20409 sales in July, well ahead of BYD's 7857.

"It is excellent to observe the greater supply arriving in Australia to meet customer demand, an area Toyota has prioritised," said Toyota Australia vice president of sales John Pappas.

"We continue to see steady, strong demand across our range, which should keep us on course for 230000 sales by year end.

"More than half of all vehicles sold in July featured electrified powertrains, reflecting Toyota's multi-pathway strategy of providing the suitable powertrain for each customer's needs."

Toyota Australia delivered 239863 vehicles in 2025, a 0.6 per cent decline from its record 2024 total of 241296 sales, the highest annual figure achieved by any manufacturer in Australian history.