South Africa is a global automotive industry leader with a proud history relating to cars. Some of the first exports for storied luxury car brands, like Rolls-Royce, were to South Africa. These cars served wealthy early mining industrialists in the first decades of the 20th century.
The domestic automotive industry is an anchor of South Africa’s economy, with factories assembling more vehicles for export than are purchased domestically. You won’t find many global markets where Ferraris and Land-Cruiser 70 Series 4x4s are available. But that diversity makes the South African car market so fascinating.
For a market so passionate about cars, what do South Africans prefer?
Toyota is South Africa’s most successful automotive brand, measured in overall sales. It leads Volkswagen, its nearest rival, by a large margin.
Last year, Toyota sold 132 035 vehicles in the local market, more than double that of Volkswagen, totalling 69 801.
Toyota and Volkswagen are esteemed legacy car companies locally and globally. Their rankings in the local market aren’t surprising. But there are surprises when evaluating the other top five local car brands.
South Africa’s third most popular car brand is Suzuki, registering 47 078 new owners last year.
Despite its cars only being reintroduced to the local market in 2008 (after exiting in the mid-1990s), Suzuki has found enormous customer demand and brand alignment from local customers, who find value in its compact, price-conscious cars.
Do you own a Samsung device or LG home appliance? Probably. Korean industrial design, consumer goods and digital devices are considered premium. And that has created a positive association for Korean cars, too.
Although Hyundai established its South African presence with compact sedans and hatchbacks, the Korean auto giant now primarily markets a range of crossovers and SUVs. And enough South Africans buy them to make Hyundai the fourth most popular local vehicle brand, with 36 047 new vehicles delivered to customers last year.
Nissan is South Africa’s fifth most successful car brand, tallied by unit sales of 30 487. It has an interesting product portfolio, marketing South Africa’s only compact bakkie, the NP200, and one of South Africa’s best-value crossovers, the Magnite.
For decades, Hilux has been South Africa’s best-selling vehicle, with no other brand or model capable of challenging it.
The Hilux bakkies sold in South Africa are also proudly local, assembled at Toyota South Africa’s production plant in Prospecton, near Durban. Month after month, demand for Hilux remains consistently high. Last year 32 203 South Africans chose to buy a Hilux.
Hilux might be the best-selling vehicle in South Africa, but Toyota does not lead in terms of pure passenger car sales. That’s where Volkswagen retains its reputation as the true People’s Car company. Toyota might sell the most vehicles, but Volkswagen sells the most passenger cars.
The German brand has followed a very clever strategy in the local market, with Polo. Leveraging that two generations of Polo are locally built, in Kariega, Volkswagen sells both current and ‘previous’ generation Polos, with the latter denoted by its Vivo affix.
This mix of two generations of Polo in the local market helps Volkswagen retain its status as the passenger car brand of choice in South Africa. Its ‘legacy’ Polo Vivo model is unquestionably South Africa’s most popular passenger car, with sales of 20 866 in the previous year.
The Kariega Plant celebrates the 500 000th Polo built in SA!
Ford has radically altered its local product portfolio. Gone are the passenger cars like Fiesta and Focus. Its repositioned South African business is about bakkies, especially the latest-generation Ranger, launched in 2021 and proudly assembled in Tshwane.
Ranger is South Africa’s third most sold vehicle, with 17 341 new owners last year. It offers an unusual level of digital integration for a bakkie, with many app-based functions.
Ford’s product people believe connectivity is crucial in conquering bakkie market share, hence even the cheapest Ranger bakkies feature large touchscreen infotainment systems.
Swift is the most popular of Suzuki’s local models and the country’s favourite Japanese passenger car, ranking fourth in overall sales, with 17 282 in the last full-year reporting period.
Although crossovers have a broad market presence, the traditional compact hatchback remains a popular vehicle category among South African buyers. Especially first-time car buyers and those on a budget. And the Swift is ideally positioned to meet that demand.
Completing the list of South Africa’s top five most popular vehicles is Isuzu’s D-Max bakkie. The presence of three bakkies among the local list of five most popular cars proves South Africans prefer larger vehicles with purpose.
Most bakkies sold in South Africa perform a utility role in construction, agriculture, infrastructure support, mining exploration, small business, and service industry logistics. Bakkies are the wheels and gears that make the South African economy mesh and turn.
But South Africans have increasingly started buying a more significant proportion of double-cab bakkies for family car use. This trend is evident when you observe how many double-cab derivatives Toyota, Ford and Isuzu offer.
Why are South Africans buying so many bakkies, and a greater proportion of double-cabs as family vehicles?
The answers are all-terrain ability and more confident driving ability on poor roads. It’s a fact that the South African road network is regressing. Bakkies have more rugged suspension and larger tyres, lowering the risk of a pothole strike disabling your journey or causing a tragic accident.
Beyond their enhanced safety when encountering potholes at cruising speeds, the double-cab bakkie is also terrifically useful. It can function as a school-run vehicle in the morning, move about items you need for work or home DIY at midday, and then travel on dirt roads to reach an adventure activity venue by sunset.
The double-cab bakkie has effectively replaced the traditional compact luxury sedan as the South African security estate driveway car of choice. Good for Toyota and Ford, with their Hilux and Ranger models, but not so great for Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The German luxury car brands have ceded much market share regarding A4, 3 Series and C-Class, to bakkie priced in the R800 000 to R1m price range.
Wondering where electric vehicles fall in the popularity content? Read all about it in our guide to EVs in South Africa:
No matter what the numbers say, South Africans all seem to have their own preference. Luckily, the South African automotive market offers a diverse range of car brands to choose from, each with its unique features and advantages.
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The Kariega Plant celebrates the 500 000th Polo built in SA!
