Australian drivers are learning the dirty secret about utes.
Sure, a Ford Ranger or Toyota HiLux looks amazing on your social media feed, conquering the outback, roaming across beaches, and doing all the tough and macho things utes can do.
But for every owner who genuinely needs a vehicle that can cross a stream, carry a tonne of dirt in the back, or pull a massive trailer, there are a few people who don’t need that at all.
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Rather than kidding themselves that they absolutely must have the toughest Tonka truck on the block, people are figuring out you can make do with regular cars – or the ute you already have in the driveway.
Fleet sales of utes remain strong. But private customers are turning away from them, and the car industry recorded a near-30 per cent drop in private sales of four-wheel-drive utes between March 2025 and March 2026.
The sales crash for vehicles in this class is brutal, if you compare March this year with the same month in 2025.
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It includes best-selling heroes such as the Ford Ranger (-9.1 per cent) and Toyota HiLux (-27.8 per cent) that recorded sales drops.
Then there’s the Toyota LandCruiser (-75.9 per cent), Nissan Navara (-51.8 per cent), VW Amarok (-46.3 per cent), Mazda BT-50 (-21.3 per cent) and Isuzu D-Max (-7.6 per cent).
Moving up a size, the RAM 1500 (-46.5 per cent), Toyota Tundra (-32.9 per cent) and Chevrolet Silverado (-17.9 per cent) are also having a tough time.
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The open secret about utes is that they are heavily compromised vehicles that are crap to drive in day-to-day circumstances most people find themselves in.
It’s extremely difficult to make a machine tough enough for proper off-roading or heavy-duty work that can also serve as comfortable and efficient family transport.
Four-wheel-drive utes are shocking in the daily commute. Laggy diesel engines, agricultural steering and a rough ride from suspension designed to carry heavy weight makes them a chore in traffic.
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The back seats aren’t as comfortable as what you find in a family SUV, and tech is often outdated as utes have longer production cycles and less emphasis on innovation than regular cars.
And while they are great for shifting a motocross bike, sticking a week’s worth of groceries in the tray is a recipe for disaster.
Factor in higher running costs and the price of diesel fuel these days – or the difficulty of finding any diesel a few weeks ago – and it’s easy to see why Aussies are falling out of love with big utes.
It’s no wonder that the best-selling ute for private buyers is BYD’s plug-in hybrid Shark.
It might be the least ute-like vehicle in its class.
People will buy the cars that they want to buy.
And even if they don’t need the rally-conquering ability of a Ford Raptor, they may still like to see one in the garage.
I get it. I’m a dead-ordinary motorcycle rider with less than a gram of the tonne of talent held by racing heroes such as Troy Bayliss or Casey Stoner. But that doesn’t stop me fantasising about racing a Ducati at Phillip Island.
But the days of utes on top of the sales charts are numbered. And this will only become more pronounced as the government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard comes into effect, penalising car makers for selling cars that produce more emissions than government targets.
It’s something the car industry has been preparing for.
In February last year, Toyota’s then-vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, told me that we have reached “peak ute” and that he expected SUVs such as the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid to overtake the Ranger and HiLux on the sales charts.
Hanley, who was recognised with a lifetime achievement trophy at the car industry’s Newspress Awards last week, said last year that “I think, an SUV perhaps even our very own RAV4 might very well rise to the top of the sales charts within the next couple of years, so watch that space very carefully”.
“We know from our own research, generationally, ute owners, particularly, those in their mid to late 30s who are married with kids, will move to an SUV,” he said.
I reckon there’s wisdom in that.
A year later, ute sales are crashing and a hybrid RAV4 sits on top of the sales charts.
The secret is well and truly out.
