Ford Everest achieves new sales record in April

The big SUV led the market last month, accounting up over a quarter of all cars supplied in the category.

The Ford Everest has established a new record, with 2400 of the huge SUVs finding homes in April 2024.

According to VFACTS statistics provided today by the Federal Chamber for Automotive Industries (FCAI) there were 2400 Everests supplied by Ford last month, up from 677 at the same time in 2023 and 2264 in March this year.

The success happened despite increasing competition in the class, with the newcomer Tank 500 outselling the Toyota LandCruiser Prado.

April’s outstanding performance means the Everest has shot past the Isuzu MU-X as top of the big SUV market, claiming a 24.4 per cent chunk of the pie compared to the Isuzu’s 19 per cent with 1876 vehicles shipped.

At this time last year, the Ford only had a 9.2 per cent share of the class, lagging behind the MU-X at 14.9 per cent, Kia Sorento on 11.1 per cent, Toyota Prado on 10.4 per cent and Subaru Outback on 10.2 per cent.

So far in 2024 the Everest is also only leading the way among its rivals, with 6899 cars supplied in the first four months of the year (16.7 per cent), compared to the MU-X’s 6730 (16.3 per cent).

The model’s success comes despite the recent specification modifications to the line-up, including that of its sister the Ford Ranger ute, which saw many critical features being eliminated, while some other new equipment was introduced for the MY24.5 update in March.

While the additions were previously reported in January 2024, Ford has confirmed to Drive that the under-bumper kick sensor for the power tailgate has been removed across the line-up, while the Ambiente, Trend, and Sport variants all lose automatic high-beam – leaving it only on the top-spec Platinum grade.

The Everest also loses Ford MyKey capabilities, which enables vehicle keys to be set with a speed restriction, radio volume limit, and seatbelt reminders. 

Everest Trend and Sport grades now gain zone lighting and stand-off roof rails – which were previously only standard on the Platinum – while all three variations may now pick Pro Trailer Backup Assist.