Toyota Stops Fortuner Sales In New Zealand, What's The Fate Of Australia?

Toyota Fortuner. (Doc. Toyota-Astra Motor)

Toyota's decision to stop selling Fortuner in New Zealand has surprised many. However, the reason behind this decision was not due to poor sales performance, but because of the company's strategy to switch to electrification vehicles.

"In our focus on providing a series of electrical powertrains and emission-reducing, we decided to no longer offer Fortuner in New Zealand," said a brand representative.

Unlike his neighbor, Toyota Australia stated that there was no change in plans in their vehicle line. Thus, this formidable SUV is still being sold in the country ofTEN.

Launching CarExpert, Tuesday, September 3, one of the brand's representatives confirmed the model remains available in Australia even though the SUV is one of the vehicles with the lowest local sales.

In 2023, Toyota managed to send 3,619 Fortuner units to Australian customers beating Yaris (2,098 units), GR86 (1,144 units), and other models.

Unlike in New Zealand, the model is less popular in Australia when compared to Ford Everest, which sold 15,071 units and Isuzu MU-X to 14,139 units at last year's acquisition.

In the Australian market, Toyota Fortuner builds on the same platform as HiLux and joins Kluger, LandCruiser, and LandCruiser Prado in the tough SUV lineup.

In addition, Australia will welcome the presence of the latest LandCruiser Prado which offers greater dimensions with hybrid technology but at a price that is more expensive than ever.

Toyota has announced that it will provide hybrid systems to most of its models in the Australian market. Unfortunately, it is still uncertain whether one of them is Fortuner or not.