Amarok soars to 4th! SA's best-selling bakkies in December 2025

In December 2025, the Volkswagen Amarok soared to 4th position on the list of South Africa’s best-selling bakkies with its strongest showing yet. Here are all the details…

Hilux, Ranger, D-Max remain on podium in December
VW Amarok hits highest placing (and sales tally) yet
Navara slides 2 rankings to 8th as sales drop 37.6%

In December 2025, South Africa’s total new-vehicle market grew 19.2% year on year to 48 983 units, with the light-commercial vehicle (LCV) segment recording its 9th consecutive month of year-on-year growth, surging 23.7% to 11 296 units. But what happened on the list of SA’s best- and worst-selling bakkies?

Toyota Hilux Legend 55 — *After 6 straight months of 3 000+ units, the Hilux settled for 2 979 sales in December.*

Well, the Toyota Hilux finished at the very top of the table, just as it has every single month this year. Despite sales slipping 11.9% month on month to 2 979 units (after 6 straight months of 3 000+ units), the Prospecton-built stalwart was still way out in front in December 2025.

The Ford Ranger held into 2nd place – a position it occupied in 10 of the year’s 12 months – with local sales of the Silverton-made bakkie falling 2.4% month on month to 2 236 units in December. That meant the Struandale-built Isuzu D-Max again completed the podium, with 1 549 units (down 7.4% compared to November 2025) sold in the final month of the year.

Ford Ranger Wildtrak — *In December 2025, the Ranger took 2nd place for the 10th time of the year, having finished 3rd on 2 occasions.*

However, the big news in December 2025 was the performance of the Volkswagen Amarok, which registered 598 units to rocket 4 places to 4th – its highest ranking ever. Representing the 2nd-gen Amarok’s best total yet, this effort was a whopping 49.1% up on November’s showing and marks the first time this version of the Amarok (which is built alongside the Ranger in Silverton) has breached the 500-unit mark.

As such, the Mahindra Pik Up – which occupied 4th place in each of the opening 11 months of 2025 – had to settle for 5th position in December, with sales of the KwaZulu-Natal-assembled workhorse dipping 30.5% month on month to 512 units. For the record, that figure represents the Pik Up’s lowest tally of the year.

Meanwhile, the GWM P-Series (465 units; down 30.1%, month on month) slipped a ranking to 6th, with the Toyota Land Cruiser 79 (407 units; up 1.0%, month on month) holding steady in 7th. Sales of the Nissan Navara tumbled 37.6% month on month to 319 units in December 2025, seeing the Rosslyn-produced bakkie slide 2 spots to 8th.

Finally, the Chinese pair of the JAC T-Series (down 6.9% month on month to 188 units) and Foton Tunland (down 19.1% month on month to 157 units) again completed the top 10, retaining 9th and 10th respectively. While JAC reports only a combined T-Series figure to Naamsa, we’re awaiting an unofficial breakdown of the range’s sales for November.

Best of the rest in December 2025

Peugeot Landtrek facelift — *The facelifted Landtrek was 11th in December, again missing out on a top 10 spot.*

So, which bakkies didn’t manage to crack the top 10 in the final month of the year? Well, the Peugeot Landtrek was again the best of the rest in December, with 109 units (down 34.3% month on month) of the Chinese-built model sold around South Africa.

Next came the Mahindra Bolero (47 units), followed by the GWM Steed (37 units) and Mitsubishi Triton (33 units). The Changan Hunter (17 units) took the penultimate spot, while the Jeep Gladiator again closed out the segment with 4 registrations in December.