Best-selling cars in South Africa

November saw a big upset in the new-car sales statistics for South Africa, as the VW Polo Vivo dethroned the evergreen Toyota Hilux as the best-selling car in the country.

Naamsa’s sales figures show that the hatchback achieved a solid 2,999 sales compared to the bakkie’s 2,702.

This is the first time since May 2023 that the Hilux has failed to reach the top, underscoring the continued pressure on household finances in the country.

Following the Hilux was its Corolla Cross stablemate which racked up an impressive 2,655 units, with the Ford Ranging trailing it at 2,248 sales.

In fifth sat the new Suzuki Swift, seeing 1,776 customers taking one home, and sixth went to another bakkie, the Isuzu D-Max, with a tally of 1,764 purchases.

Hyundai’s popular Grand i10 landed in seventh owing to its 1,296 sales, and eighth was swooped up by the Toyota Starlet with 1,238 units moved.

The rivals of the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro and Haval Jolion battled it out for the last two spots in the top 10, and what a close fight it was. In the end, the Chery came out on top with 1,191 examples sold, versus the Haval’s 1,062.

In 11th landed the Kia Sonet with 1,059 units rolling out of showroom floors, and 12th went to the best-seller’s sibling, the VW Polo, narrowly surpassing the 1,000 mark by just three units.

Nissan took home the 13th spot thanks to the Magnite’s 945 purchases, and the Suzuki Fronx followed with 888.

The next three positions were all awarded to Toyota, the Fortuner coming in at 15th with 872 transactions, the Urban Cruiser 16th with 870, and the Starlet Cross 17th with 710.

The Mahindra Pik Up only just managed to edge out the Renault Kwid for 18th with 699 registrations compared to 692, and the final model to crack the top 20 was the Toyota Hiace with a respectable 635 sales.

These top performers accounted for a total of 27,304 sales in November, or approximately 56% of all the new vehicles sold in the country.