Is the Hilux still the sales king after the first half of 2023 or has the Ranger caught up? And what about SA’s worst-selling bakkies? A look at the H1 2023 winners and losers…
In the opening half of 2023, South Africa’s light-commercial segment – which includes bakkies, mini-buses and vans – grew 20.3% year on year to 76 519 units. So, how have things panned out for individual contenders in the bakkie segment?
Well, we’ve tallied up the sales figures for the first half of 2023, allowing us to identify South Africa’s best-selling bakkies, year to date (be sure to check out SA’s top-selling passenger vehicles, too). Of course, we’ll take a look at the bakkies that failed to crack the top 10, too. Right, let’s dive in…
Hilux way out in front as Ranger holds off D-Max
No prizes for guessing South Africa’s best-selling bakkie (and indeed most popular vehicle overall) in the 1st half of the year was the Prospecton-produced Toyota Hilux, which amassed 18 801 registrations in the 6-month reporting period. The Japanese contender was the only bakkie to cross the 3 000-unit mark in a month, a feat it achieved no fewer than 3 times in H1 2023. In fact, its monthly average came in at a whopping 3 134 units.
So, just how far behind was the Silverton-built Ford Ranger in 2nd place? Well, with 11 726 units sold over the opening half of the year, the Blue Oval bakkie was 7 075 units off the pace. It was impressively consistent, however, cracking 2 000 units in 4 of the 6 months, with its 2 worst performances coming in January and February (when single- and extended-cab models were not yet fully online).
Meanwhile, the Isuzu D-Max – which is manufactured in Struandale in the Eastern Cape – returned a figure of exactly 10 000 registrations at the halfway point, enough to secure the final place on the bakkie-sales podium. While the D-Max was virtually neck and neck with the Ranger over the opening quarter of 2023 (and indeed came within just 280 units of matching its foe in 2022), it fell off the pace slightly in April and May, before narrowing the gap again in June.
The market’s only half-tonne offering, the Nissan NP200, ended the reporting period on 6 757 sales, which netted it a comfortable 4th position. Meanwhile, 5th place went to the KwaZulu-Natal-assembled Mahindra Pik Up, which finished up on 4 478 registrations.
Evergreen Land Cruiser 79 and new VW Amarok climb
As was the case in 2022, the Rosslyn-made Nissan Navara (2 360 units) found itself in 6th position. This time, however, the seemingly evergreen Toyota Land Cruiser 79 was right on its tail in 7th, ending the reporting period on 2 349 units. Interestingly, Toyota SA Motors confirmed to Cars.co.za earlier in 2023 it was “studying” the possibility of introducing a 4-cylinder version of the long-in-the-tooth bakkie.
The GWM P-Series (2 084 units) held steady in 8th spot, with its best month being May 2023, when 494 units were registered. Judging by the improvement in sales figures compared with the opening quarter of the year, the Chinese firm’s local division appears to have secured a steadier supply of stock.
The new Volkswagen Amarok (1 452 units) climbed a position compared with its ranking last year, ending H1 2023 in 9th place. For the record, the Amarok – which moved into its 2nd generation in March 2023 – already finds itself just 444 units short of its full-year total for 2022.
The GWM Steed thus dropped to 10th, with its half-year total coming in at an underwhelming 586 units. It’s not exactly clear what’s behind this marked dip in performance, with the Chinese bakkie managing to crack 3 figures only twice over the opening 6 months. For context, the Steed attracted 4 522 sales in 2022, translating to a monthly average of 377 units.
A look at SA’s slowest-selling bakkies in H1 2023
What about the bit-part players? Well, the under-appreciated Mitsubishi Triton effectively placed 11th (up a spot compared with 2022), with 380 units sold over the opening half of the year. Next came JAC’s T-badged bakkies – the Chinese automaker unfortunately reports only a combined figure for its T6 and T8 line-ups – with 244 units.
Local sales of the Mahindra Bolero slowed to just 185 units, putting it slightly ahead of the Peugeot Landtrek (177 units). Meanwhile, the Jeep Gladiator – South Africa’s most expensive bakkie at a cool R1 329 900 – was just behind its Stellantis sibling, finishing H1 2023 on 171 registrations (with a high of 83 units – 80 of which were sales to the rental industry, fascinatingly – coming in June 2023).
And the beleaguered Mazda BT-50? Well, the D-Max-based model was the worst-selling bakkie of all, with just 40 examples registered over the first 6 months of the year. For the record, we’ve focused on traditional bakkies here, excluding models such as the Hyundai H100, Kia K Series, Volkswagen Transporter Pick Up and Suzuki Super Carry.
South Africa’s 10 best-selling bakkies in H1 2023
1. Toyota Hilux – 18 801 units
2. Ford Ranger – 11 726 units
3. Isuzu D-Max – 10 000 units
4. Nissan NP200 – 6 757 units
5. Mahindra Pik Up – 4 478 units
6. Nissan Navara – 2 360 units
7. Toyota Land Cruiser 79 – 2 349 units
8. GWM P-Series – 2 084 units
9. Volkswagen Amarok – 1 452 units
10. GWM Steed – 586 units
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