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Toyota HiLux and Corolla rivalry stays hot (683)

Toyota's in-house rivalry for sales supremacy between HiLux and Corolla is shaping up as another nail-biting contest in 2017, based on automotive market results for January.

HiLux took overall honours in 2016 as the best-selling car in Australia - the first time a vehicle other than a passenger car has earned the title for a full year.

Corolla, which took second place last year, has bounced back in January to post 2,943 sales - giving it a narrow lead of 241 vehicles over its stablemate.

Sales for both vehicles last month were higher than for January last year - by 6.7 per cent for Corolla (2,943) and 15.4 per cent for HiLux (2,702).

As a result, the margin is even tighter than in January last year when Corolla began the year with sales just over 400 ahead of HiLux.

By year's end, HiLux had edged to victory with a total of 42,104 sales compared with 40,330 for Corolla. They were the only vehicles in Australia last year to exceed 40,000 deliveries - and the first time a single manufacturer has held the top two sales positions in the country.

Toyota Australia's senior executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said the HiLux and Corolla sales teams were geared up for another close result in 2017.

"Australian motorists are the winners from intense competition while increased demand for both vehicles in January is a great omen for the rest of the year," Mr Cramb said.

Toyota retained its long-held position as market leader in January, lifting sales by 0.8 per cent over the same month last year to 12,554 vehicles.

In addition to the strong showing by HiLux and Corolla, Toyota's January result was boosted by segment-leading performances from Camry, LandCruiser wagon, HiAce van and HiAce bus.