The best-selling car brands and models in South Africa right now
While South Africa’s motor industry is taking a beating as customers contend with rising living costs, there are still some clear brand and model favourites among those who found room to purchase a new car last month.
The Naamsa New Vehicle Sales stats for September 2023 show a year-on-year decline of 4.1% – representing a cumulative decline of 13% since July – due to fluctuations in the exchange rate, rising fuel prices, and increased energy costs.
Notably, passenger cars continued to lose market share as September sales in the segment were down 8.4% to 29,669 units.
“The fact that there are now two consecutive months of strain, September seemingly bigger than August, provides some measure of concern for new vehicle sales,” said Lebo Gaoaketse, Head of Marketing and Communication at WesBank.
He added that this is a sign that several economic pressures, such as fuel prices, inflation, restricted income growth, and the energy crisis, have caught up with consumer and business confidence, pressuring sentiment to make new vehicle purchase decisions.
Overall, domestic vehicle sales shrunk 7.8% quarter-on-quarter in Q3, a sharply negative signal for overall growth in consumption of durable goods, said Absa.
Despite this, Toyota was able to hold on to its title as South Africa’s best-selling carmaker, selling 12,704 vehicles. This is partly due to the continued popularity of its flagship Hilux bakkie.
Volkswagen (VW) also remains the second most popular brand, with 6,316 units sold, while Suzuki is third, with 4,478 units sold.
Toyota comprised 27.6% of all vehicles sold last month. This is well above the combined sales of VW (13.7%) and Suzuki (9.7%), which comprised 23.4% of all vehicles sold.
Of the total reported industry sales of 46,021 vehicles, 80.7% were represented by dealer sales, 13.6% to the vehicle rental industry, 2.8% to the government, and 29% to corporate industry fleets.
The top 10 brands that sold the most cars locally in August 2023 were:
- Toyota – 12,704 units
- Volkswagen Group – 6,316 units
- Suzuki – 4,478 units
- Ford – 2,807 units
- Hyundai – 2,665 units
- Nissan – 2,130 units
- Isuzu – 1,990 units
- Kia – 1,703 units
- Renault – 1,702 units
- Haval – 1,532 units
Best-selling models
With an impressive 3,249 sales under its belt, the Toyota Hilux was South Africa’s best-selling vehicle in September – accounting for 7% of all cars sold.
Additionally, Toyota boasted four models in the top 10 best-selling cars – which included the Hilux (1st), Toyota Corolla Cross (4th), Toyota Hi-Ace (6th), and the Toyota Starlet (8th).
Following its one-month reign at the top in April, the new Ford Ranger ranked 3rd in August and remained in this position in September, selling 2,413 units.
The second and third most popular brands, VW and Suzuki, also featured models in the top ten – the VW Polo Vivo (2nd), the VW Polo (9th) and the Suzuki Swift (7th).
The top 10 best-selling models, including the abovementioned models, and how many units were sold in June 2023 are listed below.
1. Toyota Hilux – 3,249 units sold
- Starting price: R356,600
2. VW Polo Vivo – 2,698 units sold
- Starting price: R255,600
3. Ford Ranger – 2,413 units sold
- Starting price: R494,400
4. Toyota Corolla Cross – 2,259 units sold
- Starting price: R408,400
5. Isuzu D-Max – 1,639 units sold
- Starting price: R431,800
6. Toyota HiAce – 1,462 units sold
- Starting price: R543,900
7. Suzuki Swift – 1,291 units sold
- Starting price: R199,900
8. Toyota Starlet – 1,247 units sold
- Starting price: R252,100
9. VW Polo – 1,148 units sold
- Starting price: R343,100
10. Nissan NP200 – 997 units sold
- Starting price: R234,000
Read: Petrol prices over R25 a litre – here’s how much more it will cost you to fill up in October
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