Features / 3 November 2023 / Albert du Toit

Best-selling hatchbacks in South Africa – and how much they cost

The VW Polo Vivo was the best-selling hatchback on the South African new-car market in October, smashing its nearest rival by 917 sales and pulling in 2,280 new customers.

The rival in question was the Toyota Starlet which sold 1,363 units, enough to score it second place and narrowly edge out the Suzuki Swift with its 1,248 sales.

VW, Toyota, and Suzuki are by far the country’s favourite hatchback builders, in fact.

VW and Toyota both grabbed two spots in the top 10 with the Polo coming in at fourth place and the Vitz at fifth, and Suzuki took home three best-sellers with the S-Presso sitting in ninth and the Baleno in tenth place.

Hyundai was another popular option, occupying sixth and eighth thanks to a stellar performance from the Grand i10 and i20, respectively.

Renault was therefore the only brand that still made it into the top 10 but with fewer than two models, with its star performer being the Kwid which achieved a solid seventh place.

Despite an overall dip in sales in the new-car market over the last three months, hatchbacks remain the first choice for many car buyers in South Africa, likely due to the wide variety of options from a host of brands, and prices ranging from the most affordable car in the country to upwards of a million rand.

Of the total of 45,455 new-vehicle sales in October, just the 10 best-selling hatchbacks accounted for a considerable 9,932 units – just under a quarter of the entire market.

Best-selling hatchbacks in South Africa

Ranked below are the best-selling hatchbacks in South Africa from October, according to Naamsa’s new-vehicle sales statistics.

It must be noted that the Hyundai Grand i10 is available in hatchback and sedan form, but the automaker does not provide individual sales figures for the body styles.

Click on the underlined prices for more information.