South Africa’s new vehicle market ended 2023 on a sombre note with December sales declining by 3.3% year-on-year, the fifth contraction in a row according to Naamsa.
Earlier in the year the market seemed well on track to recover to pre-pandemic levels, but in the last few months the industry buckled under the pressure of various economic hardships, with high living costs, load-shedding and the ports crisis all taking their toll.
South African new vehicle sales for 2023 totalled 532,098 units, which was a 0.5% increase over the 529,556 sales total of 2022, but still a few thousand units short of 2019’s tally of 536,612.
But it wasn’t doom and gloom on all fronts, with the light commercial and bakkie market growing by 11.6% year-on-year.
The big winner here was the Ford Ranger, which gained around 41% versus 2022 as the latest version came on stream, while the Toyota Hilux climbed 16%. The Toyota was still the top seller overall, with 37,382 finding homes, versus Ford’s 24,618. The Isuzu D-Max managed to improve its sales performance by 11.1% to 18,962 units.
Passenger cars were down 4.4% overall but still accounted for the bulk of sales, at 347,695 units versus 151,499 light commercial sales in 2023. Volkswagen’s Polo Vivo was the hero here, closely followed by the Toyota Corolla Cross.
South Africa’s top-selling vehicles in 2023
- 1. Toyota Hilux - 37,382
- 2. Ford Ranger - 24,618
- 3. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 23,904
- 4. Toyota Corolla Cross - 22,592
- 5. Isuzu D-Max - 18,963
- 6. Toyota Hi-Ace - 16,465
- 7. Suzuki Swift - 15,974
- 8. Toyota Starlet - 15,713
- 9. Nissan NP200 - 12,721
- 10. Volkswagen Polo - 11,748
- 11. Toyota Fortuner - 10,385
- 12. Chery Tiggo 4 - 10,054
- 13. Hyundai Grand i10 - 9,829
- 14. Haval Jolion - 8,604
- 15. Nissan Magnite - 8,580
- 16. Mahindra Scorpio PU - 8,063
- 17. Renault Kiger - 7,725
- 18. Volkswagen T-Cross - 7,152
- 19. Kia Sonet - 6,511
- 20. Renault Kwid - 6,222
- 21. Suzuki Baleno - 6,004
- 22. Toyota Urban Cruiser - 5,992
- 23. Toyota Corolla Quest - 5,832
- 24. Haval H6 - 5,674
- 25. Renault Triber - 5,644
- 26. Hyundai i20 - 5,413
- 27. Hyundai Venue - 5,156
- 28. Suzuki Ertiga - 5,150
- 29. Toyota Vitz - 5,117
- 30. Suzuki S-Presso - 5,009
Toyota was by far the top manufacturer in 2023, with its overall volume of 142,612 units more than double that of second-placed Volkswagen, at 67,456, and giving the Japanese brand a record market share of 26.8%.
Suzuki followed in third with a historically impressive volume of 49,438 units.
National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) chairman Brandon Cohen said dealers were arguably facing the toughest market conditions since 2007, thanks to the current financial pressure on consumers.
This has led to overstocking of vehicles, making dealers eager to move stock by offering bigger incentives and discounts.
Cohen said the outlook for 2024 was cautiously optimistic with expected interest rate cuts possibly providing some relief to consumers, but many risks remain, including the outcome of SA’s elections.
“This year will certainly not be a leisurely ride and will again require resilience and commitment from the dealer network,” he concluded.
There was some very encouraging news on the manufacturing front with exports not only climbing 12.7% year-on-year but also setting a new record of 396,290 units. This beat the previous export record set in 2019 by 2.4%.