South Africa’s sad state of economic affairs continues to reflect in the new vehicle market, with January seeing a 3.8% year-on-year decline.
According to Naamsa last month’s vehicle sales totalled 41,636 units, down from 43,294 in January 2023, marking a fifth consecutive monthly decline for the industry.
This downturn was driven by passenger car sales, which fell by 6.7% year-on-year, while the light commercial vehicle market saw a welcome gain of 2.3%. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles gained 13.3% and 7.9% respectively.
84.3% of all vehicle sales took place through the dealer channels last month, while the rental industry accounted for 11.5% (a healthy 15% of passenger car sales). Corporate fleets and government accounted for 2.2% and 2.0% of the pie respectively.
It was business as usual on the sales charts, with the Toyota Hilux taking the bakkie lead with 2,645 units finding homes, while the Ford Ranger managed an impressive 1,914 units and the Isuzu D-Max trailed with 1,336.
The Volkswagen Polo Vivo led the passenger car race with 2,645 sales, followed by the Toyota Corolla Cross (1,660), Suzuki Swift (1,566) and Toyota Starlet (1,479).
50 best-selling vehicles in South Africa: January 2023
- 1. Toyota Hilux - 2,645
- 2. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 2,034
- 3. Ford Ranger - 1,914
- 4. Toyota Corolla Cross - 1,660
- 5. Suzuki Swift - 1,566
- 6. Toyota Starlet - 1,479
- 7. Isuzu D-Max - 1,336
- 8. Toyota Hi-Ace - 1,194
- 9. Volkswagen Polo - 1,079
- 10. Toyota Fortuner - 974
- 11. Nissan NP200 - 969
- 12. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro - 914
- 13. Nissan Magnite - 843
- 14. Hyundai Grand i10 - 766
- 15. Suzuki Ertiga - 657
- 16. Suzuki Baleno - 625
- 17. Toyota Vitz - 622
- 18. Toyota Urban Cruiser - 589
- 19. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 578
- 20. Haval Jolion - 567
- 21. Kia Sonet - 510
- 22. Volkswagen T-Cross - 502
- 23. Renault Kiger - 483
- 24. Suzuki Jimny - 445
- 25. Suzuki S-Presso - 434
- 26. Haval H6 - 421
- 27. Suzuki Fronx - 391
- 28. Renault Triber - 388
- 29. Hyundai i20 - 379
- 30. Toyota Rumion - 372
- 31. Renault Kwid - 356
- 32. GWM P-Series - 351
- 33. Volkswagen Polo Sedan - 346
- 34. Chery Tiggo 7 Pro - 330
- 35. Ford Everest - 329
- 36. Suzuki Celerio - 300
- 37. Nissan Navara - 296
- 38. Beijing X55 - 278
- 39. Hyundai Tucson - 274
- 40. Toyota Corolla Cross - 274
- 41. Suzuki Grand Vitara - 265
- 42. Volkswagen Tiguan - 257
- 43. Volkswagen Amarok - 222
- 44. Kia Picanto - 208
- 45. Chery Tiggo 8 Pro - 181
- 46. Hyundai Venue - 176
- 47. Hyundai H100 Bakkie - 173
- 48. Toyota Land Cruiser 300 - 171
- 49. Kia Pegas - 164
- 50. Volkswagen T-Roc - 159
Top Manufacturers
Toyota was the top-selling manufacturer overall with a volume of 10,855 in January, followed by Volkswagen at 5,522 units, with Suzuki nipping at Wolfsburg’s heels with an impressive 5,235 units.
Ford and Nissan made the top five with 2,420 and 2,315 unit sales respectively, while Hyundai (2,185), Isuzu (1,610), Haval (1,463), Chery (1,425) and Renault (1,411) fleshed out the top 10.
“The lingering effects of cost-of-living increases, dampened consumer and business confidence combined with the country’s port challenges and persistent load shedding continued to undermine the new vehicle market’s recovery path”, said Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa.
2024 Outlook
The organisation said South Africa’s economic outlook for 2024, at 1.2%, remains a key challenge for the motor industry.
Speaking at the State of the Motor Industry event held in late January, Toyota SA President and CEO Andrew Kirby said the first half of the year would likely see sluggish sales as buyers held off purchases ahead of the election.
However, a favourable outcome could see the market gain traction in the latter half of 2024. Kirby predicted that the overall market would grow by 1.5 percent to 540,000 units this year.
National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) Chairperson Brandon Cohen echoed these sentiments.
“It was generally predicted that the first half of 2024 would see little growth in the overall market after declines in each of the last five months of 2023," Cohen said.
"It seems the dreaded 'Januworry' has taken effect with a further decline in consumer affordability due to the cost of living increases and the political climate uncertainty of an election year. Even the fact that the vehicle rental industry bought 11.5% of the total vehicles sold in January could not prevent another month of decline," he concluded.