It’s been an interesting first half of the year for South Africa’s bakkie market, with the traditional big-name players experiencing a few ups and downs. Let’s look at the numbers…
In the first half of 2022, South Africa’s light-commercial segment — which includes bakkies, mini-buses and vans — shrunk 7.6% year on year to 63 586 units. As we’ve pointed out before, a fair chunk of that shortfall is due to a lack of local production of the Hilux and Hi-Ace at Toyota’s flood-damaged Prospecton plant in KwaZulu-Natal since mid-April.
So, how did things pan out over the first six months of the year in the bakkie segment? Well, we’ve been following the sales race closely since the start of 2022 and now have the opportunity to tally up the figures and see which bakkie places where. Let’s take a closer look…
Despite the aforementioned lengthy production stoppage at Toyota’s local facility, the Hilux is miles ahead of the pack, with nearly 16 000 units registered at the halfway point of 2022. That’s more than double its second-placed rival.
Interestingly, the runner-up isn’t the outgoing Ford Ranger, which is relegated to third place with 6 828 units sold. Instead, second spot goes to the new Isuzu D-Max (7 140 units), which finishes the first half of the year 312 units ahead of its Silverton-built competitor. However, as we’ve mentioned before, it seems this total includes the Gen 6 range, which is effectively a previous-generation D-Max soldiering on alongside the new line-up.
As the only half-tonne bakkie still on the local market, the Nissan NP200 (6 073 units) takes a strong fourth place, with the locally assembled Mahindra Pik Up (pictured above) grabbing a commendable fifth. The Rosslyn-built Nissan Navara (2 970 units) settles into sixth place, 395 units ahead the GWM P-Series (2 575 units), which is interestingly the highest-placed fully imported model.
With 2 356 examples registered countrywide in the opening half of 2002, the GWM Steed takes eighth, not far behind its likewise Chinese-built sibling. The evergreen Toyota Land Cruiser 79 (1 585 units) and outgoing Volkswagen Amarok (1 052 units) close out the top 10 in ninth and tenth place, respectively.
Bakkies at the bottom of the sales charts in 2022 thus far
So, what about the bakkies that failed to make it into the top 10? Well, the Mahindra Bolero (575 units) was the best of the rest, as it has been month in and month out in 2022 thus far. The Mitsubishi Trition finished the first half of 2022 with a total of 270 sales (that’s an average of 45 units a month), while the Peugeot Landtrek settled for a total of 191 units.
And the Mazda BT-50? Well, the D-Max-based bakkie disappointed with a six-month tally of just 102 units, which translates to a paltry monthly average of 17 units. Finally, the Jeep Gladiator contributed 56 registrations, though hit the market only in the final month of the reporting period. For the record, we’ve excluded JAC’s T6 and T8 models since the company has started reporting a combined figure.
SA’s 10 best-selling bakkies in 2022 so far
1. Toyota Hilux — 15 992 units
2. Isuzu D-Max — 7 140 units
3. Ford Ranger — 6 828 units
4. Nissan NP200 — 6 073 units
5. Mahindra Pik Up — 3 856 units
6. Nissan Navara — 2 970 units
7. GWM P-Series — 2 575 units
8. GWM Steed — 2 356 units
9. Toyota Land Cruiser 79 — 1 585 units
10. Volkswagen Amarok — 1 052 units
