Brace for a surprise in 2nd place! Here’s your monthly look at South Africa’s best-selling (and least-popular) bakkies for March 2024…
Note: this story earlier included what Naamsa described as “erroneously reported sales figures”, specifically for the Nissan Navara and NP200. According to Naamsa, this was due to a “corrupt process system”. We’ve updated the table below to the corrected figures and amended the text accordingly.
In March 2024, South Africa’s new-vehicle market suffered its 8th consecutive month of year-on-year decline, with total sales falling 11.7% to 44 235 units. Even the usually robust light-commercial vehicle (LCV) space wasn’t spared, with registrations here dropping 5.9% year on year to 14 626 units.
So, what happened on the list of South Africa’s best-selling bakkies? Well, the Prospecton-built Toyota Hilux range – which recently welcomed 6 new mild-hybrid derivatives, with the widebody GR Sport III waiting patiently in the wings, too – was yet again the country’s most popular bakkie line-up, with 3 104 units sold.
Intriguingly, the Nissan NP200 put in its best showing in recent memory, which secured it surprise 2nd position (up 2 spots from February 2024). Nissan reported a whopping 2 679 sales of the half-tonner in March 2024, representing a month on month increase of 110%. While production of the NP200 has already wrapped up, the company’s local division recently confirmed to Cars.co.za that it had managed to manufacture some “additional” stock, perhaps accounting for this spike.
But back to the sales table. The Isuzu D-Max (2 095 units, 542 of which represented purchases by the government) again completed the podium, with the Struandale-manufactured range having recently been bolstered by fresh single-cab derivatives. That meant the Silverton-built Ford Ranger line-up – which recently gained both Tremor and Platinum derivatives – had to settle for a fairly unfamiliar 4th position in March 2024, with 1 954 units sold.
Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natal-assembled Mahindra Pik Up (744 units) held steady in 5th place. China’s GWM P-Series (591 units) moved up to 6th place, while the Rosslyn-manufactured Nissan Navara (467 units) dropped a spot to 7th.
The updated Toyota Land Cruiser 79 range – which now includes the option of 4-cylinder power and an automatic transmission – climbed a position to 8th, with 454 registrations. The SA-built Volkswagen Amarok (421 units) thus slipped a ranking to 9th, while the GWM Steed (76 units) again closed out the table.
Best of the rest in March 2024: bakkies outside the top 10
So, which bakkies didn’t crack the top 10 in March 2024? Well, the JAC T-Series – the Chinese automaker unfortunately reports only a combined figure for its T6, T8 and new T9 line-ups, so we can’t place it in the top 10 – managed 131 units, finishing ahead of the Peugeot Landtrek (60 units), Mitsubishi Triton (53 units) and Mahindra Bolero (25 units).
Though the Mazda BT-50 has been discontinued in South Africa, the Japanese firm’s local division sold 12 units in March 2024. That meant the Jeep Gladiator (a facelifted version is set to launch in Mzansi only towards the end of 2024) again brought up the rear, ending the 3rd month of the 2024 on 5 registrations.
10 best-selling bakkies in South Africa for March 2024
1. Toyota Hilux – 3 104 units
2. Nissan NP200 – 2 679 units
3. Isuzu D-Max – 2 095 units
4. Ford Ranger – 1 954 units
5. Mahindra Pik Up – 744 units
6. GWM P-Series – 591 units
7. Nissan Navara – 467 units
8. Toyota Land Cruiser 79 – 454 units
9. Volkswagen Amarok – 421 units
10. GWM Steed – 76 units
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