The popularity of bakkies in South Africa is undeniable, as they dominate both new and pre-owned car sales month after month, despite a very short list of budget options in a country that appreciates value for money.
Bakkies tend to be on the more expensive end of the price range in South Africa and are usually well-kitted with several bells and whistles.
Those that fall into the sub-R300,000 category offer very few luxuries and are most likely to be utilised on construction sites, by small business owners, or for short-distance transport.
There are, however, only a handful of these budget “true bakkie” options available in the local market if one disregards drop-side, chassis-cab, and box-cab variants.
These single-cab workhorses form part of the backbone of the local economy, enabling small and medium business owners across the country.
As with most of South Africa’s budget vehicle options, all of these budget bakkies are offered by either Chinese or Indian badges.
What is noteworthy, though, is that two of the options that fall into this category are relatively popular and locally-built models.
These are the Mahindra Bolero and Pik Up bakkies, which are built at the Indian automaker’s specialised facility at the Dube Tradeport special economic zone in Durban.
Joining the list earlier this year is a Chinese-built bakkie introduced in the sub-R300,000 category by JAC. The 2.0-litre turbo-diesel T6 is a single-cab offering aimed at business owners.
Two not-so-traditional bakkies also make their way onto the budget list, and interestingly, far below the R300,000 threshold, selling instead for under R200,000.
These are the Suzuki Super Carry and the Ashok Leyland Dost. Both are Indian-built single-cab Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) with impressive payload capacities of 750kg and 1,250kg, respectively.
South Africa’s cheapest bakkies
The list of bakkies that cost less than R300,000 in South Africa is rather short, but it offers a relative variety for small and medium businesses.
These are all the “true bakkies” you can buy in South Africa for less than R300,000:
Click on their underlined prices for more information.
1. Ashok Leyland Dost
- Price – R179,900
- Power – 44kW/158Nm
- Payload capacity – 1,250kg
2. Suzuki Super Carry
- Price – R196,900
- Power – 59kW/104Nm
- Payload capacity – 750kg
3. Foton Truckmate
- Price – R199,900
- Power – 82kW/142Nm
- Payload capacity – 1,200kg
4. Mahindra Bolero
- Price – R215,999
- Power – 46kW/195Nm
- Payload capacity – 1,150kg
5. Mahindra Pik Up
- Price – R297,900
- Power – 103kW/320Nm
- Payload capacity – 1,195kg
6. JAC T6
- Price – R299,900
- Power – 102kW/320Nm
- Payload capacity – 1,000kg
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