D-Max pips Ranger! SA's best-selling bakkies in March 2025

The D-Max grabbed 2nd from the Ranger on the list of SA’s best-selling bakkies for March 2025, while Mahindra’s Pik Up broke into 4 figures…

In March 2025, South Africa’s total new-vehicle market increased 12.5% year on year to 49 493 units. Once again, the local passenger-vehicle segment was responsible for much of this industry growth, with sales in the light-commercial vehicle (LCV) space conversely sliding 8.4% year on year to 13 328 units.

So, did anything interesting happen on the list of Mzansi’s best- and worst-selling bakkies in March 2025? Well, there was no change at the very top, as the Prospecton-produced Toyota Hilux retained 1st place, with sales of this Japanese stalwart increasing 8.9% (compared to February 2025) to 2 923 units.

*March was the Toyota Hilux’s best month of 2025’s opening quarter.*

However, the big news was the fact the Isuzu D-Max grabbed 2nd place from the Ford Ranger, with registrations of the Struandale-built bakkie surging 16.9% month on month to 2 250 units (off the back of a 36.2% improvement in February, we might add). Interestingly, 372 of these D-Max units represented sales to government.

That, of course, meant the Silverton-made Ranger had to settle for an unfamiliar 3rd position in March 2025, though the Blue Oval brand’s contender was just 71 units behind its Japanese foe. In the end, local Ranger sales improved marginally (0.5% month on month) to 2 179 units, with 183 of those sold to the state.

Meanwhile, the Mahindra Pik Up broke into 4 figures in March 2025, comfortably retaining 4th place. The Indian automaker’s seemingly evergreen bakkie – which is assembled under contract by the AIH Group in KwaZulu-Natal – enjoyed a 59.2% month-on-month improvement to end on 1 215 units, a figure we believe is this nameplate’s best effort yet (helping Mahindra to a record 2 253 sales overall).

The Nissan Navara climbed a ranking to 5th, with local registrations of the Rosslyn-made range – which recently welcomed a new Pro-4X Warrior flagship derivative – soaring 102.7% month on month to 835 units. That meant the imported Toyota Land Cruiser 79 (476 units) fell a place to 6th in March.

*In March, Mahindra’s Pik Up put in what we believe was its best showing yet.*

Seemingly bolstered by new P300 derivatives, the GWM P-Series line-up registered a 73.3% month-on-month improvement in sales to 402 units, seeing the Chinese bakkie move up a spot to 7th. The Volkswagen Amarok – which is built alongside the Ranger at Ford’s Silverton facility in Gauteng – thus slipped a ranking to 8th, with 275 units sold.

Having made its debut in the top 10 in February 2025, the Foton Tunland G7 retained 9th place in March, with 236 units registered. The final place on the table went to another Chinese bakkie in the form of the long-in-the-tooth GWM Steed (119 units), which held onto 10th.

Best of the rest in March 2025: bakkies outside top 10

*JAC’s T-Series of bakkies (including the T9) hit 186 sales in March.*

So, which bakkies didn’t make the top 10 in March 2025? Well, the JAC T-Series – the Chinese firm unfortunately reported only a combined figure for its T6, T8 and T9 line-ups, so we technically can’t rank these individual nameplates in the top 10 – managed 186 units. Meanwhile, the Peugeot Landtrek ended March 2025 on 79 units and was followed by the Mitsubishi Triton and Mahindra Bolero, each finishing on 39 units (having tied in February, too).

Finally, 5 examples of the Jeep Gladiator were sold, though 2 of them represented “single registrations” (that is, units Stellantis SA kept and licensed for its own use). Interestingly, March 2025 was the first month the Nissan NP200 didn’t appear on the new-vehicle sales charts since its discontinuation a year ago, suggesting stock has finally run dry.