SA's best-selling double-cab bakkies of 2023

Ford Ranger or Toyota Hilux? Which nameplate was the best seller in South Africa’s all-important double-cab bakkie segment in 2023? Well, we have the final figures!

You’ve likely already had a read of our list of South Africa’s best-selling bakkies for 2023. But what exactly happened in the double-cab bakkie sales race?

Since Naamsa’s monthly sales figures unfortunately don’t include a breakdown of the 3 available bakkie body styles (the single-, extended- and double-cab shapes), we’ve again turned to our colleagues over at Lightstone Auto for help identifying SA’s best-selling 1-tonne double-cab bakkies for 2023.

Before we share these figures, let’s take a step back and consider what the overall picture – that is, including all body styles – looked like in 2023. Based on Naamsa’s figures, the Toyota Hilux won the overall race, with sales increasing 16.1% to 37 382 units. The Ford Ranger (up 42% to 24 618 units) was 2nd and the Isuzu D-Max (up 11.1% to 18 962 units) finished 3rd.

South Africa’s top-selling double-cab bakkies in 2023

*The Ford Ranger was SA’s best-selling double-cab bakkie in 2023.*

Right, now let’s break down the sales statistics by body style. According to Lightstone Auto’s figures, the Ford Ranger took the title of South Africa’s best-selling double-cab bakkie last year, with 20 662 units registered. By our maths, dual-cab derivatives thus represented a whopping 83.9% of the Silverton-built bakkie’s total.

That means the Toyota Hilux had to settle for the runner-up position in Mzansi’s double-cab sales competition, ending 2023 on 18 227 units. The latter figure – which is 2 435 units off the pace set by the Ranger – fascinatingly represented 48.8% of the Prospecton-produced stalwart’s overall tally.

And the final place on the double-cab podium? Well, that predictably went to the Struandale-manufactured Isuzu D-Max, which managed a total of 8 524 units. Interestingly, compared with the Hilux, double-cab variants made up an even smaller portion of overall D-Max registrations last year, accounting for just 45.0%.

Lightstone Auto’s figures furthermore showed sales of all other double-cab bakkie derivatives (over and above the Ranger, Hilux and D-Max) totalled 16 663 units for 2023.

SA’s best-selling extended- and single-cab bakkies

*The Toyota Hilux took the sales crown in the single-cab bakkie contest.*

What happened in the 1-tonne single-cab space (note, we’re excluding the soon-to-depart Nissan NP200, which managed 12 721 units in 2023, since it’s a half-tonner)? Well, the Toyota Hilux was the clear winner in this segment last year, finishing on 13 710 units. For the record, that represents 36.7% of the venerable nameplate’s 2023 total.

The Isuzu D-Max grabbed 2nd position on 8 584 units (or 45.3% of its aggregate), while the 2-door version of the KwaZulu-Natal-assembled Mahindra Pik Up (6 060 units or a whopping 75.2% of its total) claimed 3rd place. The Ford Ranger single cab, meanwhile, finished the year on just 1 515 registrations, with all other one-tonne single cabs collectively managing 9 573 units.

The Toyota Hilux also triumphed in the extended-cab sales contest, with as many as 5 417 units of the Xtra Cab registered in 2023. The Ford Ranger Super Cab took 2nd (2 441 units) ahead of the Isuzu D-Max Extended Cab (1 851 units) in 3rd.