SA's 10 top selling vehicles in 8 key segments: April

Johannesburg - South African new vehicle sales held up relatively well in April 2018, considering the month marked an increase in VAT, emissions taxes and ad valorem duty, although in fairness this taxation triple whammy did not radically affect vehicle prices.

Nonetheless, April did see a 3.6 percent year-on-year improvement in overall vehicle sales, which totalled 36 346 units, but this was still a whopping 26 percent lower than the March 2018 sales, where pre-emptive buying ahead of April’s tax hikes boosted the numbers.

ALSO READ:

But perhaps a more practical indication of the industry’s performance this year is the year-to-date decline of 2.6 percent versus the first four month of 2017, WesBank’s communications head Rudolf Mahoney pointed out, although dealer sales have bucked that trend.

“It’s encouraging to note that dealer channel sales have been up for the first four months of the year,” Mahoney added. “The slow performance of the rental segment, particularly over the first three months of the year, has weighed heavily on the overall market performance.”

Econometrix chief economist Azar Jammine said April’s growth rate was as good as could be expected for the new vehicle market this year.

Nonetheless, it was passenger car sales that led April’s modest growth, increasing 6.4 percent year-on-year to 23 928 units, according to Naamsa, while bakkies and minibuses declined by 1.2 percent to 10 580 units.

The bakkies still dominated the top end of the sales charts, however, with the Toyota Hilux (2679) and Ford Ranger (2372) taking the top two overall spots, considerably ahead of Isuzu’s KB, which took third place with 1071 sales.

Volkswagen’s Polo twins continued their stranglehold of the passenger car market, with the older-generation car (2143) taking a slight lead over its newer sibling (1907). Hyundai’s Grand i10, which recently dropped down the price ladder with the introduction of a 1-litre derivative, took a solid third place with 1013 sales.

Below we’ve listed the 10 best sellers in eight of the key segments. Keep in mind that Mercedes-Benz vehicles are excluded from the list as the company does not report individual sales figures, while the Jeep numbers are also excluded as FCA figures are only expected mid-month.

Compact-Medium SUV/Crossover

April

March

VW Tiguan424525Mazda CX-5 378378Toyota Rav4 337463Nissan Qashqai 246489BMW X324478Hyundai Tucson 227400Nissan X-Trail 222444Toyota C-HR18765Kia Sportage 114181VW Tiguan All-Space New

1140

Large SUV/Crossover

April

March

Toyota Fortuner 8791274Ford Everest 312559Toyota Land Cruiser20096136Toyota Prado82119BMW X565171Range Rover Sport62147Land Rover Discovery 4994Range Rover Velar4972Mitsubishi Pajero Sport4424Volvo XC903639

Bakkie (All)

April

March

Toyota Hilux 26793825Ford Ranger 23722753Isuzu KB 10711273Nissan NP200 10581562Nissan NP300 Hardbody 448745Nissan Navara261447Hyundai H100 Bakkie 219285VW Amarok 208176Toyota Landcruiser PU 192262Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up 130196