Johannesburg - We’ve become accustomed to seeing the Toyota Hilux dominate South Africa’s sales charts but, last month, the tides turned, with the Ford Ranger taking the bakkie lead.
The new-generation Ford Ranger, which was launched late last year, found 2 201 homes in April, also making it the country’s top-selling vehicle overall.
It narrowly beat the Toyota Hilux, which managed a volume of 2 187 units. The Isuzu D-Max followed in a distant third, with 1 183 sales. The new Ranger-based Volkswagen Amarok also enjoyed a particularly strong month, relative to what its predecessor sold, entering the top seven with a volume of 339 units.
Bakkie Sales Ranking: April 2023
- 1. Ford Ranger – 2 201
- 2. Toyota Hilux – 2 187
- 3. Isuzu D-Max – 1 183
- 4. Nissan NP200 – 910
- 5. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up – 548
- 6. Toyota Land Cruiser PU – 369
- 7. Volkswagen Amarok – 339
- 8. GWM P-Series – 257
- 9. Nissan Navara – 218
- 10. Hyundai H100 Bakkie – 158
- 11. Kia K2700 – 122
- 12. Suzuki Super Carry – 94
- 13. Mitsubishi Triton – 71
- 14. GWM Steed – 68
- 15. JAC X-Series – 48
- 16. JAC T-Series – 30
- 17. Kia K2500 – 26
- 18. Volkswagen Transporter PU – 21
- 19. Jeep Gladiator – 11
- 20. Peugeot Landtrek – 10
- 21. Mazda BT-50 – 7
- 22. Mahindra Bolero – 4
April is a bit of an anomaly in vehicle sales terms as the public holidays lead to fewer sales days. Somewhat concerning, however, was that overall vehicle sales last month were 0.2% lower than in April last year, despite there being one extra selling day in 2023, the Automotive Business Council reported.
The bakkie market fared better than the passenger vehicle sector, growing by 11% year-on-year to a total of 10 611 units. Passenger cars declined by 6.1% to 204 174 units. Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales grew by 20.3% and 23% respectively.
Mark Dommisse, the chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association, said his organisation was discouraged by the decline in bank approvals during April. That was partly due to the recent interest rate hikes, which had led to higher instalments and reduced affordability all round.
“Supply remains sporadic, but this is limited to certain segments only. There is also another significant increase in the price of petrol in May. With the possibility of a further interest rate hike announcement at the end of the month, we trust the proven track record of the motor industry will prevail and future sales may not be as badly affected as some people are forecasting,” Dommisse added.
In the export sales race, the Toyota Hilux led the way with a volume of 6 918 bakkies shipped abroad, while the Ford Ranger recorded an export volume of 2 951 units and the Isuzu D-Max 603 units.
South Africa’s overall vehicle export sales increased by 13.4% year-on-year to 37 107 units.