We’ve sifted through the sales figures, done some arithmetic and identified South Africa’s best- and worst-selling bakkies of 2022. Here’s where your favourite placed…
Which bakkie is the undisputed king of South Africa based purely on sales figures? And which one is the least popular? While we suspect you already know the answer to at least one of these questions, we nevertheless thought it’d be pertinent to tally up the figures from the past 12 months and list SA’s best- and worst-selling bakkies for 2022.
Before we delve into the individual model sales numbers, it’s worth taking a brief look at how the broader new-vehicle market fared in 2022. For the record, total industry sales grew 13.9% year on year to 528 963 units, with the light-commercial vehicle sector (where the bakkies below ply their respective trades) contributing 135 666 units. For context, that latter figure is 1.9% up on 2021’s effort.
The 5 strongest-selling bakkies in SA in 2022
Despite facing critical production challenges at Prospecton in the 2nd quarter of the year (thanks to the devastating KwaZulu-Natal floods), the Toyota Hilux was again comfortably the country’s top-selling bakkie in 2022, as well as the strongest-selling vehicle overall. The Japanese stalwart’s final figure of 32 203 units was almost double that of its nearest rival and just 3 882 registrations short of its 2021 tally.
The runner-up spot again went to the Silverton-built Ford Ranger (17 342 units, down from 19 077 in 2021), though the Blue Oval brand will be hoping to improve on that showing in 2023 once the new-generation model is fully online (as it stands, only the double-cab derivatives have launched locally). The Struandale-produced Isuzu D-Max was breathing down the Ranger’s neck in 2022, finishing a mere 280 units off the pace. The D-Max’s final figure of 17 062 units (admittedly including the Gen 6 range) represented a 636-unit improvement over the previous year.
Proving a local market for a half-tonne bakkie still very much exists, the Rosslyn-manufactured Nissan NP200 (12 859 units) likewise showed some encouraging year-on-year growth, adding 1 451 units (or 12.7%) to its 2021 haul. Meanwhile, the locally assembled Mahindra Pik Up climbed a spot to grab 5th position on the list, finishing 2022 on an impressive 8 046 units (up nearly 80% compared with 4 473 registrations achieved the previous year).
The bakkies in the 2nd half of the top 10 in 2022
Built at Rosslyn alongside the aforementioned NP200, the Nissan Navara moved up 2 places to find itself just outside the top 5 in 2022, with 6 067 units sold (up 76.1% from 3 445 in 2021). The GWM Steed (4 522 units) also climbed the charts, finishing 7th and forcing its stablemate the GWM P-Series (4 183 units) down to 8th. Interestingly, the latter Chinese bakkie had a weak 2nd half of the year, ultimately shedding 373 sales in total compared with the previous cycle, when it placed 5th.
The evergreen Toyota Land Cruiser 79 finished the year with a total of 3 517 units, representing a 680-unit (24%) year-on-year improvement and enough to secure 9th spot (incidentally, a position lower than in 2021). As it has done so often throughout the year, the outgoing Volkswagen Amarok (1 896 units) completed the top 10. It’ll be intriguing to track sales of the new Ford-built version once it launches locally.
The 5 bakkies at the bottom of the 2022 sales charts
What about the bakkies languishing at the foot of the table? Well, each of these slowest-selling models failed to reach 4 figures for the year, with the Mahindra Bolero settling for 812 units (after a particularly muted 2nd half of 2022). The Mitsubishi Triton (673 units) was next, settling for a lowly 12th position despite being a popular choice in other bakkie-mad markets, such as Australia, where it outsold the D-Max last year.
Unlucky number 13 went to the Peugeot Landtrek, which finished 2022 with just 426 units, a figure that would have been even lower had the Stellantis-backed brand not managed to sell a fleet of bakkies to the South African Police Service. The Mazda BT-50 was even further behind on a mere 157 units (that’s a monthly average of just 13 registrations), while the Jeep Gladiator – officially South Africa’s most expensive bakkie at a heady price of R1 329 900 – slotted into last place with 120 units sold (though admittedly was on the local market only from the 2nd half of the year).
*For the record, we’ve focused on traditional bakkies here, excluding models such as the Hyundai H100, Kia K Series, Volkswagen Transporter Pick Up and Suzuki Super Carry. We were also not able to include the JAC T6 and T8 ranges as the Chinese automaker switched from reporting individual model sales figures to a combined number from June 2022.
Bakkie sales in South Africa for 2022
1. Toyota Hilux – 32 203 units
2. Ford Ranger – 17 342 units
3. Isuzu D-Max – 17 062 units
4. Nissan NP200 – 12 859 units
5. Mahindra Pik Up – 8 046 units
6. Nissan Navara – 6 067 units
7. GWM Steed – 4 522 units
8. GWM P-Series – 4 183 units
9. Toyota Land Cruiser 79 – 3 517 units
10. Volkswagen Amarok – 1 896 units
11. Mahindra Bolero – 812 units
12. Mitsubishi Triton – 673 units
13. Peugeot Landtrek – 426 units
14. Mazda BT-50 – 157 units
15. Jeep Gladiator – 120 units
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