August marked an 11th month of new vehicle sales increases since October last year.
The upwards momentum in South Africa’s new vehicle sales continued to show no let-up in August, with a second straight month of offset exceeding 50 000 units.
Top 10 best-selling models
While the status quo remained unchanged at the top with the Toyota Hilux keeping its first place as the country’s best-seller, its Prospecton-built sibling, the Corolla Cross, recorded its first sales hike above 2 500 units in months with a total of 2 743.
Dropping a notch from second in July to third, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo raked in 2 314 sales, while the Suzuki Swift jumped two places from sixth in July to fourth in August with an offset of 2 101.
Down in fifth, the Ford Ranger dropped two places from its third position in July, yet remained the only other vehicle in the top 10 to have more than 2 000 units with a total of 2 066.
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Similar to its Blue Oval rival, the Isuzu D-Max recorded a drop of two positions to settle at sixth on 1 778, followed by the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, which remained steady at seventh as the best-selling Chinese vehicle on 1 339.
This also applied to the Hyundai Grand i10, whose 1 301 saw it place eighth for the second month in a row.
Completing the top 10, the Suzuki Fronx and Toyota Starlet swapped places from July, the former placing ninth on 1 210 and the latter tenth on 1 160.
Month in detail
Having posted its highest monthly sales numbers in July since January 2017, the August figures by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) amounted to not only an 11th consecutive month of increases, but a new record exceeding 51 000 units.
Accordingly, overall sales rose 18.7% from August last year’ 43 692 to 51 880.
In another milestone, new passenger vehicle sales showed their highest offset since January 2015 with an uptick of 22.5% from last year’s 30 128 to 36 914.
Also on the up, light commercial vehicles recorded a fifth successive month of increases to 12 326 or 15.1% from last year’s 10 710.
The markets for medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, however, ended in the red – the former shedding 3.9% from 746 to 717, and the latter 8.8% to end on 1 923 from last year’s 2 108.
At the other end of the scale, vehicle exports regained significant ground by increasing 6.2% from August last year’s 35 310 to 37 500.
In total, dealer sales made up 83.3% or 43 692 of the 51 880 vehicles sold, with the rest being split up as follows:
- Rental agencies: 12.1%
- Corporate fleets: 2.3%
- Government: 2.3%
Naamsa reaction
“Core domestic demand remained a key driver of new vehicle sales growth in August. The South African Reserve Bank’s decision at the end of July to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points to seven percent further reinforced this momentum,” Naamsa said.
“The shift in market conditions lowered financing costs for households and dealer floorplans, broadening access to credit for vehicle purchases.
“Importantly, Treasury’s clarification that any move toward a lower inflation target would only follow full consultation helped anchor confidence and limit policy uncertainty”.
On the improving export numbers, the association said, “For the year to date, vehicle exports were still three percent ahead of the same period 2024, but are anticipated to come under increased pressure as the sector continues to adjust to higher tariff barriers to the US market as well as to adjust to the knock-on implications of the tariffs resulting in increasing global competition in other traditional export markets.
“The industry’s ongoing focus will remain to navigate potential re-routing and further market diversification”.
Top 10 best-selling marques
Out of the country’s 10 best-selling brands, the first six remained unchanged from July, with Toyota finishing first on 13 176, Suzuki second on 6 534, Volkswagen third with 5 521 and Hyundai fourth on 3 007.
Taking fifth was Ford on 2 968, followed by Great Wall Motors (GWM) on 2 519.
In a reversal of last month though, Chery leapfrogged Isuzu to finish eighth on 2 228 versus the Japanese brand’s 2 194.
Staying steady in ninth is Kia on 1 542, with Renault making its return to the first 10 at the expense of Mahindra with sales of 1 374.
August Top 50 Best-Sellers
- Toyota Hilux – 3 325
- Toyota Corolla Cross – 2 743
- Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2 314
- Suzuki Swift – 2 101
- Ford Ranger – 2 066
- Isuzu D-Max – 1 778
- Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – 1 339
- Hyundai Grand i10 – 1 301
- Suzuki Fronx – 1 210
- Toyota Starlet – 1 160
- GWM Haval Jolion – 1 123
- Suzuki Ertiga – 1 055
- Toyota Vitz – 885
- Toyota Fortuner – 783
- Toyota Rumion – 772
- Volkswagen Polo – 763
- Toyota Starlet Cross – 755
- Kia Sonet – 752
- Mahindra Pik Up – 675
- Nissan Magnite – 652
- Toyota Urban Cruiser – 634
- Toyota HiAce – 621
- Volkswagen T-Cross – 602
- Renault Kwid – 562
- GWM P-Series – 557
- Mahindra XUV 3X0 – 541
- Omoda C5 – 538
- GWM Haval H6 – 511
- Toyota Land Cruiser 70-series – 505
- Suzuki Baleno – 500
- Jetour Dashing – 495
- Hyundai Exter – 458
- Suzuki S-Presso – 433
- Renault Triber – 424
- Volkswagen Amarok – 359
- Citroën C3 – 351
- Volkswagen Polo Sedan – 333
- Nissan Navara – 333
- Renault Kiger – 327
- Suzuki Jimny – 326
- Ford Everest – 323
- Hyundai i20 – 314
- MG ZS – 308
- Volkswagen Tiguan – 288
- Jetour X70 Plus – 278
- Omoda C5 X – 273
- Toyota Land Cruiser Prado – 270
- Ford Territory – 263
- Kia Pegas – 234
- Chery Tiggo Cross – 229
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