The type of car most people in South Africa want to buy

Most people in South Africa now want to buy hybrids instead of the more traditional petrol or diesel autos that were favoured in the past.

Credit agency TransUnion’s Q1 2025 Consumer Pulse study revealed that 36% of consumers planning to take out a new car loan or lease within the next year prefer hybrid vehicles.

A lesser 32% preferred traditional internal combustion engine vehicles that only burn petrol or diesel, whilst 25% said they’ll go for a fully fledged electric car.

This reflects a growing inclination towards fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly transportation options among the motoring public.

“This trend highlights how consumers are adapting to broader economic and environmental changes,” said Ayesha Hatea, Director of Research and Consulting at TransUnion.

“Hybrid vehicles are becoming more accessible, and their appeal extends beyond cost savings to include long-term benefits such as reduced environmental impact and lower running costs.”

This sentiment was reflected in TransUnion’s latest Vehicle Pricing Index, which noted a 60% increase in new hybrid and plug-in hybrid purchases in Q4 2024.

Likewise, used-car platform AutoTrader’s Annual Car Industry Report indicated a 96% year-on-year increase in pre-owned hybrid sales in 2024.

The boost in both markets came courtesy of an increasing number of affordable semi-electric cars on the domestic shelves.

South Africa welcomed numerous new wallet-friendly hybrids in recent years as the technology continues to become cheaper to produce.

This includes the Toyota Corolla Cross, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Haval Jolion, and Honda Fit, all of which currently retail for between R494,400 and R544,900.

Compare this to 2019, when the majority of electrified cars were sold by high-end nameplates like BMW, Land Rover, Lexus, and Porsche, and cost well north of seven figures.

As the hybrid market continues to evolve, praticularly through the help of affordable entries from China, TransUnion anticipates sustained growth in consumer interest and adoption of these autos.

Most popular hybrids in South Africa

The Toyota Corolla Cross was the undisputed leader in hybrid sales in 2024, bringing in a very respectable 10,109 registrations.

It was followed by its stablemate, the Toyota RAV4, which saw a far smaller 761 transactions.

Right behind the Japanese brand was its Chinese rival GWM/Haval, which took home the third, fourth, and fifth places with its H6, Jolion, and Tank 300, respectively.

The H6 recorded 741 sales, the Jolion 630, and the Tank 310.

Lexus took home the sixth position owing to its NX crossover that garnered 219 customers, with the Suzuki Grand Vitara landing in seventh with its 133 units sold.

The Honda Fit was the last model to attain triple-digit sales, ending the year at an even 100.

The Lexus RX and standard Toyota Corolla completed the list with 99 buyers for the former and 86 for the latter.

The best-selling new hybrids in South Africa in 2024, as listed by Clean Technica, were:

Shifting our attention to the used market, the Toyota Corolla Cross remained the top-selling hybrid in the nation by a formidable margin.

It gained 950 sales throughout the year cementing its position as the leader of the segment, with its closest rival being the Haval H6 with 264 sales.

Third and fourth were once again awarded to Toyota’s Corolla and RAV4 with their 248 and 202 customers, respectively.

The tit-for-tat between the manufacturers continued, as Haval’s Jolion scooped up fifth thanks to 157 shoppers who were willing to spend their money on the crossover.

Dipping below the 100-unit mark, the Lexus UX sat in sixth with its 86 sales, while the long-discontinued BMW i8 still gained a decent 75 purchases which saw it land in seventh.

Volvo occupied both eighth and ninth with the XC60 and XC90, the former moving 67 units and the latter 66.

The Toyota Fortuner closed out the top 10 with a grand total of 63 transactions.

The best-selling used hybrids in South Africa in 2024, as per AutoTrader, were: