The Corolla has been a hero car for Toyota, here and around the world, not in a high-performance, flashy sense but rather the epitome of solid, efficient and dependable Japanese practicality.
But passenger car sales in Australia are in decline while SUVs and utes are rising strongly.
At the end of 2017 the Toyota Corolla was still the number one selling car although two utes, the Hilux and the Ranger, had moved into 2nd and 3rd position displacing Corolla competitors; the Mazda 3 and the Hyundai i30.
In January 2021 Corolla had slipped to 6th bestselling car and by June it was down in 10th place.
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But July saw a reversal of that trend. The Corolla, packed with features but not the cheapest in its class, had climbed back to 3rd place of all vehicles.
COVID has seen a push toward low-priced cars, or in this case, dependable brand names.
Seasonal factors are likely to be playing an effect in these latest figures.
The month of June is the end of the financial year so commercial vehicles are likely to be more desirable, while private buyers are not so seasonal and models that have a strong component of private buyers are more likely maintain sales.
The top ten models in July 2021
(figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries for States and territories)
- Toyota Hilux
- Ford Ranger
- Toyota Corolla
- Isuzu Ute D-Max
- Mazda CX-5
- Toyota RAV4
- Toyota Prado
- Hyundai i30
- Mitsubishi Outlander
- MG ZS
Sales by State and Territory
| State or Territory | Sales in July 2021 | Year-to-date sales | Month % change from 2020 | Year-to-date % change from 2020 |
| AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY | 1,406 | 10,390 | -11.2% | -17.5% |
| NEW SOUTH WALES | 23,923 | 205,823 | -1.7% | 24.6% |
| NORTHERN TERRITORY | 906 | 6,103 | 39.0% | 46.4% |
| QUEENSLAND | 19,107 | 141,956 | 26.1% | 32.8% |
| SOUTH AUSTRALIA | 4,986 | 41,260 | 4.9% | 25.6% |
| TASMANIA | 1,528 | 11,035 | 17.7% | 33.1% |
| VICTORIA | 23,445 | 169,676 | 34.1% | 23.8% |
| WESTERN AUSTRALIA | 8,860 | 65,386 | 22.4% | 36.8% |
| Total | 84,161 | 651,629 | 16.1% | 26.5% |
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