While domestic new vehicle sales continued to test the 60 000 unit mark, exports remained down.
The new Toyota Hilux has continued where its predecessor left off by remaining the South Africa’s best-selling new vehicle in August. Picture: Toyota
South Africa’s new vehicle sales remained in the black in August with a 22nd consecutive month of increases across all the various segment, bar exports.
Hilux still leads
As with July, 12 model registered more than 1 000 units, with the Toyota Hilux continuing to lead the way on 3 881.
While the Volkswagen Polo Vivo retained its second place with an offset of 2 379, the Chery Tiggo 4 slipped a notch to fourth behind the Ford Ranger on 2 297 versus 2 373.
The combination of the older Tiggo 4 Pro and Tiggo Cross remains, however, the best-selling imported as well as Chinese vehicle.
In another reversal, the Suzuki Swift swapped places with the Isuzu D-Max to jump from sixth to fifth place with a total of 2 152 versus 2 005.
Also jumping a place to seventh is the Toyota Corolla Cross on 1 489 at the expense of the 1 461 recorded by the Hyundai Grand i10.
Keeping station in ninth, the Toyota Starlet raked in 1 359 signatures, while the Suzuki Ertiga, in one of its best performances to date, displaced its sibling, the Fronx, to finish 10th on 1 317.
Best-selling brands
Out of the best-selling brands, Toyota remained on top, albeit with a slight reduction from 14 142 in July to 13 814.
Staying steady in second and third were Suzuki on 6 505 and Volkswagen with 5 668, while Ford jumped Hyundai to settle at fourth with an offset of 3 202.
Ranking fifth on 3 034, Hyundai placed ahead of Chery and Great Wall Motors (GWM), both holding their sixth and seventh places from July on 2 763 and 2 594 respectively.
Also staying steady in eighth and ninth places are Isuzu on 2 531, Jetour with 1 952 and Kia with 1 783 units sold
Top 15
- Toyota – 13 814
- Suzuki – 6 505
- Volkswagen – 5 668
- Ford – 3 202
- Hyundai – 3 034
- Chery – 2 763
- Great Wall Motors (GWM) – 2 594
- Isuzu – 2 531
- Jetour – 1 952
- Kia – 1 783
- Renault – 1 702
- Mahindra – 1 563
- Omoda & Jaecoo – 1 305
- BMW – 1 299
- Tata – 853
Month in detail
As in July, the August figures by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) saw overall sales again test the 60 000 unit mark.
In total, the 57 898 units moved represents an 11.4% increase over the 35 091 units sold in August last year.
The rest of the various segments were as follows:
| Passenger Vehicles | Light Commercial Vehicles | Medium-Duty Commercial Vehicles | Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicles | Exports | |
| 2025 | 36 947 | 12 369 | 692 | 1 952 | 39 833 |
| 2026 | 41 216 | 13 727 | 805 | 2 150 | 35 091 |
| Variation | +11.6% | +11.0% | +16.3% | +10.1% | -11.9% |
August Top 50 best-sellers
- Toyota Hilux – 3 881
- Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2 379*
- Ford Ranger – 2 373
- Chery Tiggo 4 – 2 297#
- Suzuki Swift – 2 152
- Isuzu D-Max – 2 005
- Toyota Corolla Cross – 1 489
- Hyundai Grand i10 – 1 461*
- Toyota Starlet – 1 359
- Suzuki Ertiga – 1 317
- GWM Haval Jolion – 1 261
- Toyota Starlet Cross – 1 015
- Suzuki Fronx – 970
- Toyota Urban Cruiser – 871
- Toyota Vitz – 871
- Volkswagen Polo – 837
- Omoda C5 – 823
- Jetour T2 – 802
- Toyota Rumion – 777
- Kia Sonet – 766*
- Tata Tiago – 764
- Toyota Fortuner – 723
- Mahindra XUV 3X0 – 711
- Toyota HiAce – 631*
- Mahindra Pik Up – 612
- GWM P-Series – 588
- Volkswagen T-Cross – 581
- Renault Triber – 549*
- Hyundai i20 – 509
- Hyundai Exter – 503*
- Nissan Magnite – 484*
- Toyota Land Cruiser 70-Series – 467#
- Ford Territory – 461
- Suzukoi Baleno – 456
- Jetour Dashing – 454
- Kia Seltos – 445
- Renault Kwid – 430
- Renault Kiger – 406
- Jetour T1 – 363
- Volkswagen Amarok – 351
- Jetour X70 Plus – 333
- Suzuki S-Presso – 316
- GWM Haval H6 – 315
- Suzuki Across – 313
- Suzuki DZire – 310
- Jaecoo J5 – 308
- Nissan Navara – 293
- Chery Tiggo 7 – 285
- Citroën C3 – 276
- Ford Everest – 270
Note:
*: Includes commercial variants
#: Combination of two models
