The Toyota Fortuner is the most successful 7-seat off-roading SUV in India
In slightly surprising news, the Toyota Fortuner will be axed in the Australian market next year. Remember that it is based on the Hilux pickup truck. However, in India, we have had the Fortuner since 2009, while the Hilux only arrived in 2022. Apart from that, the Hilux has been an incredibly popular product from the Japanese car marque across various international markets for a really long time. In Australia, the demand for pickup trucks is quite prominent. For now, let us take a look at the details of why Toyota has decided to pull the plug on the Fortuner.
Toyota Fortuner Discontinued in Australia
As per the news reports, the Fortuner was Toyota’s slowest-selling four-wheel-drive SUV in Australia. In fact, the reports mention that it was being outsold by the much more expensive Land Cruiser 8-to-1. That just indicates how terrible the sales figures for the Fortuner were. We know that Toyota sells the likes of the Prado and Land Cruiser quite extensively Down Under. Hence, its focus is clearly on these SUVs. As a consequence, it has decided not to have the next-gen Fortuner model on sale in Australia.
Just to quantify this trend, Toyota managed to sell only 2,928 units of the Fortuner in 2025 so far. In contrast, this number stands at 23,298 for the Prado, 21,915 for the Ford Everest, 12,499 for the Isuzu MU-X and 5,014 for the Mitsubishi Pajero Sports. Evidently, the Fortuner is struggling to keep up with the rivals. Recognizing the dwindling sales, it might be a prudent call to simply pull the plug on the mighty Fortuner. Australia is certainly a much-evolved market in this segment with plenty of worthy competitors.
My View
The fact that the Australian market possesses so many capable alternatives to the Toyota Fortuner helps us understand the reason why the Japanese auto giant has decided to take this call. Nevertheless, according to some reports, the new-gen Fortuner could bear some enticing aspects like fresh styling, new in-cabin tech and functionalities and a hybrid powertrain along with hardcore off-roading components. That is good news for other international markets like India.
Editor’s Note
Yatharth Chauhan, Managing Editor
Having tracked the Fortuner’s dominance in India for over a decade, its axing in Australia only reinforces how uniquely strong Toyota’s brand equity is in our market. Here, the Fortuner’s bulletproof reliability, resale value and sheer street presence keep it virtually untouchable, even as global markets gravitate toward more sophisticated alternatives. Australia’s shift doesn’t signal weakness for India, in fact, the prospect of a tech-laden, hybrid next-gen Fortuner could further strengthen Toyota’s already ironclad position in the Rs 40-50 lakh SUV segment.
Also Read: NRI Chooses Mahindra XUV3XO Over Toyota in Australia
