12 of the best-selling cars in South Africa right now – with pricing

·4 Dec 2022

New data from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) shows that South Africa’s new-vehicle market continues to be on an upward trajectory – with November 2022 sales seeing an increase of 18.2% when compared to 2021.

Toyota continued on top as the leading manufacturer of local car sales in November 2022, with a total of 13,903 vehicles sold. This is partly due to the popularity of its flagship Hilux bakkie, which sold 3,048 of the brand’s total units, said Naamsa.

Toyota now holds five positions on this list, representing the best-selling cars in November 2022. Following the Hilux, the Corolla Cross – which got a GR makeover earlier this year – is in second place and sold as many as 2,109 units in November.

The Toyota Hi-Ace followed in fourth, while the Toyota Urban Cruiser came in eighth, and the Toyota Starlet in tenth – selling 1,944, 1,334, and 1,322 units, respectively.

Regarding the most popular brands, Toyota reigns as champion, Volkswagen Group is second with 6,406 vehicles sold locally, and Suzuki Auto ranks third with 4,287 units sold.

Of the total reported industry sales of 45,966 vehicles, 81% were represented by dealer sales, 14.7% by sales to the vehicle rental industry, 2.3% to the government, and 2% to corporate industry fleets.

The top 10 brands that sold the most cars locally in November 2022 were:

Toyota – 13,903 units
Volkswagen Group – 6,406 units
Suzuki – 4,287 units
Nissan – 3,167 units
Hyundai – 3,002 units
Ford – 2,347 units
Haval – 2,220 units
Isuzu – 2,027 units
Kia – 1,892 units
Renault – 1,801 units

2023 expectations

Despite the positive numbers for November 2022, the new vehicle market’s resilient performance is decelerating due to the seventh consecutive increase in interest rates since November 2021, said Naamsa – adding that single-digit growth in new vehicle sales could be expected for 2023.

Vehicle exports performed strongly compared to the corresponding month in 2021, which was affected by the impact of a severe Covid-19 fourth wave in parts of Europe – the industry’s top export region.

Given persistently high inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes in many advanced and developing countries at present, the risks to export sales reside on the downside, said Naamsa.

The association added that growth prospects for the year’s balance remain constrained as higher interest rates and higher debt servicing costs weighed on disposable income.

Business and leisure travel recovery did however support the new vehicle market to counter the growing pressures on household incomes.

Nevertheless, the new vehicle market continued to outperform expectations, and with only one month to the end of the year, it was running 13.6% ahead of the corresponding period in 2021.

As a result of this, and the addition of several new model introductions over the past month and before the end of the year, growth prospects for domestic vehicle exports remain optimistic over the medium term, Naamsa said.

12 of the best-selling cars in South Africa in November 2022 are listed below:

1. Toyota Hilux