South Africa’s sad state of economic affairs continues to reflect in the new vehicle market, with January seeing a 3.8% year-on-year decline.

According to Naamsa last month’s vehicle sales totalled 41,636 units, down from 43,294 in January 2023, marking a fifth consecutive monthly decline for the industry.

This downturn was driven by passenger car sales, which fell by 6.7% year-on-year, while the light commercial vehicle market saw a welcome gain of 2.3%. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles gained 13.3% and 7.9% respectively.

84.3% of all vehicle sales took place through the dealer channels last month, while the rental industry accounted for 11.5% (a healthy 15% of passenger car sales). Corporate fleets and government accounted for 2.2% and 2.0% of the pie respectively.

It was business as usual on the sales charts, with the Toyota Hilux taking the bakkie lead with 2,645 units finding homes, while the Ford Ranger managed an impressive 1,914 units and the Isuzu D-Max trailed with 1,336.

The Volkswagen Polo Vivo led the passenger car race with 2,645 sales, followed by the Toyota Corolla Cross (1,660), Suzuki Swift (1,566) and Toyota Starlet (1,479).

50 best-selling vehicles in South Africa: January 2023

1. Toyota Hilux - 2,645

2. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 2,034

3. Ford Ranger - 1,914

4. Toyota Corolla Cross - 1,660

5. Suzuki Swift - 1,566

6. Toyota Starlet - 1,479

7. Isuzu D-Max - 1,336

8. Toyota Hi-Ace - 1,194

9. Volkswagen Polo - 1,079

10. Toyota Fortuner - 974

11. Nissan NP200 - 969

12. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro - 914

13. Nissan Magnite - 843

14. Hyundai Grand i10 - 766

15. Suzuki Ertiga - 657

16. Suzuki Baleno - 625

17. Toyota Vitz - 622

18. Toyota Urban Cruiser - 589

19. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 578

20. Haval Jolion - 567

21. Kia Sonet - 510

22. Volkswagen T-Cross - 502

23. Renault Kiger - 483

24. Suzuki Jimny - 445

25. Suzuki S-Presso - 434

26. Haval H6 - 421

27. Suzuki Fronx - 391

28. Renault Triber - 388

29. Hyundai i20 - 379

30. Toyota Rumion - 372

31. Renault Kwid - 356

32. GWM P-Series - 351

33. Volkswagen Polo Sedan - 346

34. Chery Tiggo 7 Pro - 330

35. Ford Everest - 329

36. Suzuki Celerio - 300

37. Nissan Navara - 296

38. Beijing X55 - 278

39. Hyundai Tucson - 274

40. Toyota Corolla Cross - 274

41. Suzuki Grand Vitara - 265

42. Volkswagen Tiguan - 257

43. Volkswagen Amarok - 222

44. Kia Picanto - 208

45. Chery Tiggo 8 Pro - 181

46. Hyundai Venue - 176

47. Hyundai H100 Bakkie - 173

48. Toyota Land Cruiser 300 - 171

49. Kia Pegas - 164

50. Volkswagen T-Roc - 159

Top Manufacturers

Toyota was the top-selling manufacturer overall with a volume of 10,855 in January, followed by Volkswagen at 5,522 units, with Suzuki nipping at Wolfsburg’s heels with an impressive 5,235 units.

Ford and Nissan made the top five with 2,420 and 2,315 unit sales respectively, while Hyundai (2,185), Isuzu (1,610), Haval (1,463), Chery (1,425) and Renault (1,411) fleshed out the top 10.

“The lingering effects of cost-of-living increases, dampened consumer and business confidence combined with the country’s port challenges and persistent load shedding continued to undermine the new vehicle market’s recovery path”, said Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa.

2024 Outlook

The organisation said South Africa’s economic outlook for 2024, at 1.2%, remains a key challenge for the motor industry.

Speaking at the State of the Motor Industry event held in late January, Toyota SA President and CEO Andrew Kirby said the first half of the year would likely see sluggish sales as buyers held off purchases ahead of the election.

However, a favourable outcome could see the market gain traction in the latter half of 2024. Kirby predicted that the overall market would grow by 1.5 percent to 540,000 units this year.

National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) Chairperson Brandon Cohen echoed these sentiments.

“It was generally predicted that the first half of 2024 would see little growth in the overall market after declines in each of the last five months of 2023," Cohen said.

"It seems the dreaded 'Januworry' has taken effect with a further decline in consumer affordability due to the cost of living increases and the political climate uncertainty of an election year. Even the fact that the vehicle rental industry bought 11.5% of the total vehicles sold in January could not prevent another month of decline," he concluded.

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