11 cars South Africans are buying right now
Despite the lingering effects of the cost-of-living increases, some car brands and models remain favourites among South Africans who managed to purchase a new car in January.
The Naamsa New Vehicle Sales stats show aggregate domestic new vehicle sales in January 2024 were 41,636 units – reflecting a decline of 1,658 units, or a fall of 3.8%, from the 43,294 vehicles sold in January 2023.
Additionally, the new passenger car market at 28,790 units had registered a decline of 2,073 cars, or a loss of 6.7%, compared to the 30,863 new cars sold in January 2023.
Interestingly, car rental sales accounted for a sound 15% of the new passenger vehicle sales.
Adding to this is the sales of medium commercial vehicles, which declined year-on-year by 24.2%, while heavy commercial vehicles and buses increased by 13.9%.
Overall, the trend continued the five consecutive months of decline up to the end of 2023 in the new vehicle market.
Export sales recorded a decline of 442 units, or 2.1%, to 20,242 units in January 2024 compared to the 20,684 vehicles exported in January 2023.
“The weak performance of the new vehicle market in January 2024 remained intricately linked to the major economic headwinds that shaped the market’s performance in 2023”, said Mikel Mabasa, Naamsa CEO.
“These included highly indebted consumers, high interest rates, high food and fuel inflation, load shedding, and port backlogs and delays.
“South Africa’s economic growth outlook for 2024, at 1.2%, although stronger than in 2023, remains a key challenge for the new vehicle market going forward in view of the close correlation between new vehicle sales and the GDP growth rate,” he added.
Despite this, Toyota remained the top-selling brand with 10,855 units sold last month, which is slightly lower than the previous month’s 11,200 units.
Volkswagen maintained its position as the second most popular brand with 5,522 sales, while Suzuki secured the third position on the list of top sellers last month with 5,235 sales.
The top 10 brands that sold the most cars locally in January 2024 were:
- Toyota – 10,855 units
- Volkswagen Group – 5,522 units
- Suzuki – 5,235 units
- Ford – 2,420 units
- Nissan – 2,315 units
- Hyundai – 2,185 units
- Isuzu – 1,610 units
- Haval – 1,463 units
- Chery – 1,425 units
- Renault – 1,411 units
Best-selling models
The best-selling cars under the brands listed above and how many were sold last month are listed below, as outlined by Naamsa.
1. Toyota Hilux – 2,645 units sold
- Starting price: R356,600
2. VW Polo Vivo – 2,034 units sold
- Starting price: R259,400
3. Ford Ranger – 1,914 units sold
- Starting price: R494,400
4. Toyota Corolla Cross – 1,660 units sold
- Starting price: R408,400
5. Suzuki Swift – 1,566 units sold
- Starting price: R205,900
6. Toyota Starlet – 1,479 units sold
- Starting price: R252,100
7. Isuzu D-Max – 1,336 units sold
- Starting price: R442,800
8. Toyota HiAce – 1,229 units sold
- Starting price: R543,900
9. VW Polo – 1,079 units sold
- Starting price: R348,200
10. Toyota Fortuner – 974 units sold
- Starting price: R673,100
11. Nissan NP200 – 969 units sold
- Starting price: R234,000
Read: How much it costs to renew your car licence in South Africa in 2024
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