Which of South Africa’s 10 best-selling automotive brands in July 2024 relied most on a single model? Let’s take a closer look at some intriguing sales statistics to find out…
Some automotive brands rely heavily on a single model, while others see their sales spread across several nameplates. Just how does this phenomenon play out between the most popular marques in South Africa? Well, we broke down the figures for Mzansi’s 10 best-selling brands in July 2024 to find out.
The calculation is a straight-forward one: simply take the sales effort of each firm’s best-selling model and divide it by that brand’s overall total for the month. Keep in mind that we used brand tallies here (for example, Volkswagen rather than the overall VW Group) and restricted this exercise to a single month. Right, let’s take a closer look at what turned out to be a fascinating set of figures…
1. D-Max for Isuzu – 79.2%
Yes, the top-10 brand that relied most on a single model in July 2024 was Isuzu with its D-Max. In the end, the Struandale-built bakkie (1 641 units) accounted for nearly 80% of the Japanese firm’s total (2 072 units) last month. It’s hardly surprising considering the only other nameplates in Isuzu Motors SA’s line-up are the MU-X plus a few similarly low-volume medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
2. Ranger for Ford – 77.8%
As is the case with Isuzu, plenty of Ford’s local success rests squarely on the shoulders of the Ranger, with the Silverton-produced bakkie having made up almost 78% (2 258 units) of the Blue Oval brand’s total (2 901 units) in July. Though Ford has lost several nameplates over the past few years – think Figo, Fiesta and EcoSport, for starters – the company has diversified its range somewhat of late, adding models such as the Puma and Territory.
3. Jolion for Haval – 75.3%
In July 2024, the Jolion line-up (868 units) – which now includes new Jolion Pro derivatives – accounted for more than 75% of Haval sales. Note we’re using the Haval brand tally of 1 153 units here, rather than the GWM group total of 1 562 units. As a reminder, the Haval portfolio currently comprises only the H6 and Jolion.
4. Tiggo 4 Pro for Chery – 67.8%
Like its Chinese counterpart above, the Tiggo 4 Pro (1 153 units) was the single model that performed the bulk of the heavy lifting for the Chery brand (1 701 units) last month, ultimately being responsible for almost 68% of the automaker’s local registrations. Note that Chery’s total does not include Omoda or Jaecoo sales.
5. Magnite for Nissan – 55.8%
With the NP200 having been put out to pasture, the Magnite has seemingly stepped up as Nissan’s volume driver in Mzansi. In July, the Indian-built crossover (1 052 units) put in its best sales performance of the year to account for more than 55% of the Japanese firm’s 1 884 sales in South Africa.
6. Grand i10 for Hyundai – 51.2%
Having just benefitted from a price cut, the Grand i10 (1 383 units, a figure that includes light-commercial vehicle sales of the Cargo panel-van derivative) made up more than half of the Hyundai brand’s total (2 699 units) last month.
7. Polo Vivo for VW – 45.2%
Though July 2024 was the Polo Vivo’s best showing of the year thus far (thanks in part of a healthy chunk of sales to the rental industry), the Kariega-manufactured hatchback (2 591 units) accounted for less than half of the Volkswagen brand’s tally. Interestingly, the likewise locally built Polo hatch represented 21.1% of the brand’s 5 737 sales last month.
8. Kiger for Renault – 40.2%
These days, the Indian-made Kwid, Kiger and Triber make up the bulk of Renault sales in South Africa. In July 2024, the Kiger was the strongest-selling nameplate from the French automaker, with its 486 registrations translating to a little over 40% of Renault’s 1 210 sales.
9. Hilux for Toyota – 27.9%
Yes, South Africa’s best-selling vehicle accounted for less than a third of its maker’s tally last month. Though the Hilux (3 021 units) crossed the 3 000-unit mark in July, it formed just 27.9% of the Toyota brand’s 10 809-unit total (excluding Lexus and Hino sales). The likewise Prospecton-built Corolla Cross made up a further 14.3%, followed by the Starlet (11.3%).
10. Swift for Suzuki – 21.7%
Suzuki Auto SA’s range is characterised by the fact that there are very few low-volume models, with the sales load generally shared among a broad variety of nameplates. In short, virtually all models pull their weight. Still, the Indian-built Swift hatchback was again easily the marque’s top seller (despite posting its lowest tally of the year so far), with its 1 045 registrations counting as around a 5th of the Japanese firm’s 4 816-unit total.
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