Toyota’s slowest-selling four-wheel-drive SUV will not be renewed for a new generation in Australia.
Toyota will pull the plug on the Fortuner off-road SUV in Australia next year after being outsold eight to one by the more expensive LandCruiser Prado this year.
The HiLux-based SUV will reach the end of the road in mid-2026 due to "shifting" customer preferences, expected to coincide with its replacement in overseas markets by a heavily updated model that is now confirmed not to be sold in Australia.
Toyota will instead focus on larger Prado and LandCruiser 300 Series four-wheel-drives, as well as the HiLux, which enters a new generation next month with familiar underpinnings and cabin structure, but new styling, interior design and features.
Despite Australia’s thirst for four-wheel-drive, off-road-capable SUVs, the Fortuner has failed to sell in the same numbers as the Prado, 300 Series or HiLux, let alone its closest rivals from other brands.
Toyota has reported 2928 Fortuners as sold in Australia so far this year, compared to 23,298 Prados, 21,915 Ford Everests, 12,499 Isuzu MU-Xs, 5014 Mitsubishi Pajero Sports, despite the lattermost no longer being in production.
Its best sales year was 2022, when 4614 deliveries were reported, but it was still outsold more than four to one by the more expensive but similarly-powered Prado.
"Fortuner has been a great product for us over the years and found a relatively small but enthusiastic customer base," Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley told local media at a preview of the new HiLux.
"But with production ending next year, and customer preferences shifting in Australia, we made the decision to discontinue the Fortuner."
Hanley said the updates to the HiLux range will capture some of the Fortuner’s market.
"It was a success in what we wanted it to do, but with the expansion of the HiLux range and rationalisation of the product offering, it's just a normal business case for us.
"Largely they [customers] are moving back into HiLux, or they're moving into SUV [other Toyota models], so that's where it's moving. SUV, that's where the customers are moving."
He said the HiLux will "fill that gap" in the line-up left by the Fortuner’s demise, with no plans to source a replacement from elsewhere, such as the 4Runner SUV sold in the US.
The Fortuner is the second slow-selling – compared to rivals, at least – model Toyota Australia has axed this year, following the Granvia people mover.
It could free the brand up to explore other offerings from Toyota’s global portfolio that won’t sell in the same volumes as a Corolla, RAV4 or HiLux, such as a return of the Prius, as Hanley hinted to Drive last week.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
