SA passenger-car sales: Toyota grabs 4 spots in January 2025's top 10

The Suzuki Swift soared to the top of SA’s passenger-vehicle standings in January 2025, while Toyota grabbed 4 spots in the top 10. Here are Mzansi’s best-selling cars and crossovers…

While Suzuki hogged the headlines for leapfrogging Volkswagen Group Africa in January 2025 (with the Swift furthermore ranking as South Africa’s best-selling vehicle overall), Toyota again dominated the passenger-vehicle space, accounting for as many as 4 of the top 10 best-selling cars and crossovers in 2025’s opening month.

As a reminder, Mzansi’s new passenger-vehicle market was again largely to thank for the overall industry’s year-on-year growth in January, with sales in this segment increasing 18.3% year on year to 29 181 units (a whopping 19.2% of which came courtesy of the rental channel).

*Suzuki’s Swift was SA’s top-selling passenger car (and best-selling vehicle overall) in January.*

The Suzuki Swift put in its best performance yet to finish the month on 2 628 units, some 46.4% of which represented sales to the vehicle-rental industry. That meant the Volkswagen Polo Vivo (2 549 units) had to settle for an unfamiliar 2nd place in January, with the Kariega-built hatchback – which was SA’s best-selling passenger car in 2024 – ending 79 units off the pace.

Meanwhile, the Toyota Starlet – which is based on the Baleno (406 units) and built by Suzuki in India – climbed 3 places to complete the podium, with 2 180 units registered, 1 250 (or 57.3%) of which were sales via the rental channel. That saw the Prospecton-produced Toyota Corolla Cross slip 2 positions to 4th, with sales falling slightly to 1 226 units (likely due to the recent changeover to the facelifted version).

*The Toyota Starlet made it onto the podium in the opening month of 2025.*

The Hyundai Grand i10 retained 5th place in January, with 1 163 units of this Indian-built model sold. Note this figure excludes the 49 Cargo-badged panel-van units Hyundai furthermore registered in the light-commercial vehicle space last month. The Chinese-made Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (1 122 units) moved up 2 places to 6th, with the Haval Jolion (1 099 units) holding steady in 7th.

The next 2 spots were occupied by Toyota-badged models: the Toyota Starlet Cross (1 050 units) breached the 4-figure mark to return to the top 10 and snaffle 8th, finishing ahead of the Toyota Urban Cruiser (890 units) in 9th. Finally, the Kia Sonet (830 units) retained 10th to round out the table.

*Kia’s Sonet retained 10th place in January 2025.*

For the record, the Suzuki Fronx on which the Starlet Cross is based managed 771 units in January, while the Grand Vitara alongside which the Urban Cruiser was developed ended on 209 registrations.