Australia Pick Up Sales : 2025

Pick up trucks or utes - as they are sometimes called - are popular in Australia. Previously there weren't always many models to choose from so the few that were available sold in good numbers. That exclusivity is changing and rapidly. 

In Australia converting US trucks to right hand drive has increased choice although the conversion puts them at the high end of the price range. They had initial success but that has lessened of late. The Ford F-150 has had its problems. Technical issues and non-compliance with Australian Design Rules led to a three month supply pause between July and October.  

Chinese sourced models are arriving in greater numbers and making waves. The BYD Shark is a new entrant in 2025 that is immediately enjoying success and JAC has hit the road. GWM, LDV and MG all introduced models in 2025 too. In addition Kia has now entered the fray.

The market grew by 6% in 2025 but all those new entrants means the competition is intense. Ford (with the top selling Ranger) and Japanese models are not going to have it all their own way in future. How much difference the new arrivals will make is still to be determined.

In the chart, pink represents brands associated with Asia, yellow Europe and blue USA. For Europe, the VW is sourced from Ford and the rest are Chinese with brand names originating in the UK.  

Data source: VFACTS. Photos: JAC & Kia Australia.

Subaru Global Sales/Prod Summary : 2015-2025

Subaru's size is not an easy one for a mainstream manufacturer. It needs to be bigger or have a partner to share costs with. That partner is Toyota. It had a minor share until 2019, when the decision was made to increase it to 20% which it has now done. From this has come model and technology sharing, which has been very helpful to Subaru. 

The chart below shows several markets, the yellow colour showing a decrease. The data is in thousands. The period between 2019 and 2022 were down but Covid may have been a factor from 2020. Overall sales are the same from 2015 to 2024. 2025 had a slight drop in volume.

Perhaps the most glaring issue is the USA. In 2025, 70%! of Subaru's sales are registered in the USA. Having so many eggs in one basket isn't ideal, although I don't have a solution to that. It makes Subaru dependent on one market and as we have recently witnessed, nothing today is certain. 

Most other markets have remained solid with the exception of China, which was thankfully not a big market anyway. Sales have dropped from 47,000 in 2025 to 2,500 in 2025. Canada and Australia remain important markets for the company.

The only production facility outside of Japan is in Indiana, USA and 338,000 vehicles were made there in 2025. That's half the 668,000 sold in the US. During 2025, the 6 millionth vehicle rolled off the assembly line at that plant. That was achieved in its 38th year of operation. 

Photo source: Netcarshow.

A basic look at production shows percentages of where vehicles are made. In 2025, 62% of Subaru's total production was in Japan, 38% in the US. 

Premium Marque Deliveries : 2026

It wasn't all beer and skittles for premium marques in 2025. Deliveries for the brands I've assembled here were up just 2%. Add the congestion of new Chinese entrants and it's game on. 

A few of the figures are educated estimates and there may be the odd newbie that I haven't noticed or doesn't provide data.

BMW/MINI has 18% of the total. MINI had a good year and pushed the combined total into positive territory. 

Mercedes-Benz and Tesla both registered 9% falls which is not unsubstantial. JLR was down 15% but the temporary demise of Jaguar and the cyber attack contributed to a large degree. 

Xpeng and Xiaomi had huge increases but Zeekr maintained the status quo. Porsche was down 10% and Li Auto dropped 19%. It is all a bit fluid at the minute and how it will pan out is up in the air. 2026 will hopefully provide some clarity.