New high for Suzuki as vehicle sales hit all-time record in October

South Africa’s new vehicles sales officially posted its highest monthly report in October by shifting close on 62 000 units for the first time.

Suzuki and Toyota domination

Once again led by the Toyota Hilux on 3 820 sales, 15 models again recorded sales of more than 1 000 units, with four staying steady within the top 10.

Raking in 2 695 sales, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo kept its second place standing ahead of the Ford Ranger, which jumped a spot from fourth in September to third in October on 2 381.

Improving two places from sixth to fourth, the Suzuki Swift finished on 2 344, while the combination of the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro and Tiggo Cross under the Tiggo 4 banner remained fifth on 1 924 as the country’s best-selling Chinese vehicle once again.

Taking sixth, the Toyota Corolla Cross improved a notch from September on 1 723, with the month’s biggest faller being the Isuzu D-Max from third last month to seventh on 1 644.

Upping its ranking by two places, the Toyota Starlet Cross placed eighth on 1 611, followed by the Hyundai Grand i10, which stayed steady in ninth place on 1 556.

Completing an even split between locally made and imported products in the top 10, the Great Wall Motors (GWM) Jolion returned to the first 10 by jumping from 11^th place in September with a total of 1 343 units moved.

Outside the top 10, the Chery Q provided the biggest surprise by displacing the BYD Dolphin Surf as the Republic’s best-selling fully electric vehicle on 438.

Also gaining momentum, the facelift Ford Territory shifted 507 units, while the Suzuki Fronx again lost out to its Starlet Cross sibling by moving 1 118 units, a drop from the 1 184 moved in September.

Best-selling brands

Out of the best-selling brands, Toyota remained the nation’s best-seller, but saw it sales drop from 15 366 in September to 14 495 in October.

By comparison, Suzuki’s 7 292 saw it break through the 7 000 unit barrier for the first time, its highest since netting 6 890 signatures in the same month last year.

Inclusive of Audi, Volkswagen kept its third place standing on 6 515, up from August’s 5 968, while Ford remained fourth on 3 353.

Staying fifth, Hyundai recorded an offset of 3 207, while GWM got the better of arch rival Chery to move 2 919 units versus Wuhu’s 2 754.

Taking eighth, Kia jumped two places from September to settle on 2 233, while Isuzu followed Toyota as the only marque within the top 15 to record a downturn on all front, in this case two places dropped from September and sales of 2 123 versus 3 022.

Down in tenth, Jetour dropped once place from ninth in September, but still registered a sales upturn from 2 036 to 2 102.

Top 15

• Toyota – 14 495
• Suzuki – 7 292
• Volkswagen – 6 515
• Ford – 3 353
• Hyundai – 3 207
• Great Wall Motors (GWM) – 2 919
• Chery – 2 754
• Kia – 2 233
• Isuzu – 2 123
• Jetour – 2 102
• Renault – 1 706
• Mahindra – 1 484
• BMW – 1 312
• Omoda & Jaecoo – 1 201
• Tata – 1 057

Month in detail

Having breached 61 000 unit sales in September, the October figures by National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) show a figure closer to 62 000.

A new all-time record since statistics began, a total of 61 890 vehicles left dealership floors last month, an increase of 10.4% over the 56 051 moved in October last year.

The rest of the segments were as follows:

	Passenger Vehicles	Light Commercial Vehicles	Medium-Duty Commercial Vehicles	Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicles	Exports
2025	39 704	13 398	777	2 172	35 853
2026	45 084	13 689	770	2 347	38 117
Diff.	+13.6%	+2.2%	-0.9%	+8.1%	+6.3%

October Top 50 best-sellers

1. Toyota Hilux – 3 820
2. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2 695*
3. Ford Ranger – 2 381
4. Suzuki Swift – 2 344
5. Chery Tiggo 4 – 1 924#
6. Toyota Corolla Cross – 1 723
7. Isuzu D-Max – 1 644
8. Toyota Starlet Cross – 1 611
9. Hyundai Grand i10 – 1 556*
10. GWM Haval Jolion – 1 343
11. Kia Sonet – 1 321*
12. Suzuki Ertiga – 1 234
13. Suzuki Fronx – 1 118
14. Toyota Vitz – 1 091
15. Toyota Starlet – 1 081
16. Volkswagen Polo – 991
17. Toyota Urban Cruiser – 939
18. Toyota Fortuner – 894
19. Toyota Rumion – 777
20. Jetour T2 – 753
21. Volkswagen T-Cross – 739
22. Omoda C5 – 726
23. GWM P-Series – 666#
24. Mahindra Pik Up – 664
25. Toyota HiAce – 657
26. Jetour Dashing – 646
27. Tata Tiago – 645
28. Mahindra XUV 3X0 – 615
29. Volkswagen Polo Sedan – 563
30. Renault Triber – 559*
31. Suzuki Baleno – 556
32. Suzuki DZire – 543
33. Hyundai i20 – 531
34. Renault Kiger – 525
35. Ford Territory – 507
36. Citroën C3 – 478*
37. Volkswagen Amarok – 459
38. Chery Q – 438
39. Renault Kwid – 420
40. Toyota Land Cruiser 70-Series – 409#
41. Kia Seltos – 373
42. Nissan Magnite – 369*
43. Jetour T1 – 364
44. Suzuki Across – 360
45. Jaecoo J5 – 350
46. Jetour X70 Plus – 339
47. GWM Ora 5 – 336
48. Ford Everest – 318
49. Hyundai Exter – 300*
50. Suzuki S-Presso – 295
    Note:
    *: Includes commercial variants
    #: Combination of two models