14 of the best-selling cars in South Africa right now – with pricing

BusinessTech
Data from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) shows the Toyota Hilux remains the best-selling car in South Africa – despite selling over 500 units less in December 2022 compared to the previous month.
Toyota swept the podium over December 2022, with the Corolla Cross and HiAce taking the second and third spots, respectively. The Toyota Starlet (8) and Urban Cruiser (9) ensured that Toyota had five cars in the top 10.
The best-selling car that was not a Toyota was the Ford Ranger, which was the fourth best-selling car in South Africa. The Volkswagen Polo Vivo and the standard Volkswagen Polo were the fifth and sixth best-selling cars, respectively.
Toyota was comfortably the best-selling brand in December 2022, with 11,250 units sold in the month. Volkswagen, the second-best-selling brand in December, sold 5,331 units – not even 50% of Toyota’s total sales.
The top 10 brands that sold the most cars locally in December 2022 were:
Expectations for the rest of 2023
December 2022 sales figures showed a 12th consecutive month of year-on-year (y-o-y) growth. Naamsa says sales grew from 35,944 in December 2021 to 41,783 in December 2022 – a 16.2% gain.
Overall 2022 sales data shows the market is returning to pre-pandemic levels, with 528,963 vehicles sold throughout the year – 13.9% y-o-y growth for the whole year.
Despite weakening economic indicators and a declining outlook for the global economy in 2023, the market is expected to remain resilient.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg believe that there is a 45% chance of South Africa going into a recession in 2023. The bleak economic outlook has seen South Africa’s predicted GDP growth reduced to 1,1% for 2023.
Naamsa says that a close correlation exists between new vehicle sales and GDP growth, meaning that a single-digit increase in new vehicle sales is expected for the year – marking a return to pre-pandemic levels in local sales.
The 14 best-selling cars in December are as follows:
1. Toyota Hilux

2. Toyota Corolla Cross

3. Toyota HiAce

4. Ford Ranger

5. Volkswagen Polo Vivo

6. Volkswagen Polo

7. Isuzu D-Max

8. Toyota Starlet

9. Toyota Urban Cruiser

10. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro

11. Suzuki Swift

12. Hyundai Grand i10

12. Renault Kwid