Hilux or Ranger? Which nameplate was the best seller in the double-cab bakkie segment in October 2023 and year to date? Well, the answer is different in each case…
By now, you’ve probably already had a good look at our list of South Africa’s best-selling bakkies for October 2023. But what about 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 asked our friends over at Lightstone Auto for help identifying SA’s best-selling 1-tonne double-cab bakkies for October – as well as for the year to date.
Before we scrutinise these figures, let’s take a step back and consider what the overall picture – that is, including all body styles – looks like so far in 2023. Based on Naamsa’s figures, the Toyota Hilux is leading the bakkie pack overall with 31 451 units, followed by the Ford Ranger (20 448 units) and the Isuzu D-Max (16 277 units).
SA’s top-selling double-cab bakkies in October 2023
Right, now let’s break down the sales statistics by body style. According to Lightstone Auto’s figures, the Hilux was South Africa’s best-selling double-cab bakkie last month, with 1 528 units registered. Dual-cab derivatives thus represented 49% of the Prospecton-built stalwart’s overall tally of 3 110 units in October 2023.
It’s furthermore worth noting that the Hilux – which is, of course, SA’s most popular vehicle overall year to date and has been the top seller every year for the past decade – also reigned supreme in the 1-tonne single-cab bakkie segment (1 180 units) as well as in the extended-cab segment (400 units) last month.
In the double-cab race, the Silverton-produced Ranger thus had to settle for 2nd place in October, with 1 483 units sold (or 80% of its 1 853-unit total). For the record, the Blue Oval brand also moved 254 units in the extended-cab space (enough for 2nd, too) but just 116 units in the 1-tonne single-cab segment.
As you might have guessed, the Struandale-made D-Max again completed the double-cab podium, with 566 units sold (or nearly 39% of its 1 464-unit aggregate for October) in this part of the market. The D-Max also enjoyed 734 sales in the single-cab arena (grabbing 2nd place there) along with 164 sales in the extended-cab space.
SA’s top-selling double cabs YTD 2023 (end of October)
What about the year-to-date double-cab bakkie sales race in South Africa? Well, despite the Hilux clearly winning October, Lightstone Auto’s fascinating dataset shows the Ranger remains ahead in the dual-cab space after the first 10 months of 2023, with 17 265 units registered around Mzansi.
The double-cab Hilux thus finds itself 1 801 units off the pace, with 15 464 examples sold in SA, year to date. The D-Max double cab, meanwhile, is in a distant 3rd place on 7 387 units.
And the single-cab space? Well, with 10 months of 2023 gone, the Hilux (11 427 units) has what is surely an unassailable lead in this segment, with the D-Max single cab (7 292 units) sitting in 2nd and the 2-door version of the KwaZulu-Natal-assembled Mahindra Pik Up (5 263 units) some way behind in 3rd. The Ranger single cab, meanwhile, finds itself on 1 262 registrations, year to date.
According to Lightstone Auto, sales of all other bakkies (over and above the Ranger, Hilux, D-Max and Pik Up) available in the double-cab body style total 12 457 units year to date, while the single-cab tally (again, excluding these 4 mentioned nameplates) sits on 8 377 units over the same reporting period.
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10 best-selling bakkies in South Africa: October 2023
