TOYOTA’S HiLux is still leading Australia’s new-vehicle sales with a 284 unit lead over the Ford Ranger. March saw the Ranger accelerate by 520 sales over February while the HiLux went backwards by 78 units.

No prizes for who came third (Corolla) but the next few rungs on the March automotive sales ladder were surprising – Mitsubishi Triton was fourth, up from seventh position last month, with a 1215 unit increase in March to 3109 sales.

It was enough to push Mazda’s perennially popular Mazda3 into fifth place, aided by a 155-unit fall in sales compared with February.

The Hyundai i30 retained its sixth spot, followed by a leap in sales by the Nissan X-Trail (previously placed 12th), and the Mitsubishi ASX, up to eighth from 33rd in February and indicative of the 2017 clearance sales and aggressive pricing by Mitsubishi.

The shuffle of passenger cars versus utes and SUVs continues, with the Volkswagen Golf giving way to a rampaging Isuzu D-Max ute range, and the Honda CR-V and Toyota Prado jumping ahead of cars like the Hyundai Accent.

Some surprising falls included the Toyota Kluger, now outside the Top 20 in 30th but previously on the 17th rung, as it awaits a refresh.

Former patriot Holden didn’t have a showing until the 20th position held by the Colorado ute, up from 28th in the previous month, while its next best was the Commodore (35th) and Astra (39th).

Ford’s best remains the Ranger with 59.1 per cent of the brand’s total sales (up from 58 per cent in February) while the next best Ford in March is the Mustang in 49th position – the only two from the company in the Top 50.