In March 2024, the South African new-vehicle market experienced its eighth consecutive month of decline compared to the previous year. Total sales dropped by 11.7% to 44,237 units, including a 4.3% decrease in registrations for light-commercial vehicles (LCVs), totaling 14,870 units.
Now, let's take a look at the list of South Africa's best-selling bakkies (pickup trucks). Once again, the Toyota Hilux range, which recently introduced six new mild-hybrid variants and has the highly anticipated widebody GR Sport III on the horizon, secured its position as the country's most popular bakkie lineup, selling 3,104 units.
In a surprising turn of events, the Nissan Navara, manufactured at Nissan's Rosslyn facility in Gauteng, achieved its best performance in recent memory, securing the second position. Nissan reported a remarkable 2,277 sales of the Navara in March 2024, a significant increase of 407.1% compared to its tally of 449 units in February 2024 when it ranked sixth. To provide context, the Navara's best performance in 2023 was 581 units, achieved in February of that year.
While it remains unclear how Nissan achieved such a substantial month-on-month increase in Navara sales, it is worth noting that 2,153 of those units were sold through dealerships, with an additional 98 units sold to the government, and 26 units listed as "single" registrations, indicating bakkies kept for the automaker's use. It's worth mentioning that teaser images of a new-generation Navara have recently been revealed overseas, but it appears that the release of such a model in the South African market is still a long way off.
The Isuzu D-Max, with 2,095 units sold (including 542 government purchases), secured the third position on the sales table. The Ford Ranger, manufactured in Silverton and recently expanded with Tremor and Platinum variants, had to settle for the fourth position, with 1,954 units sold, a relatively unfamiliar position for the model.
Despite the conclusion of production at the Rosslyn facility, the Nissan NP200 managed to slot into the fifth position last month, with 1,113 units sold. Nissan's local division confirmed that they had manufactured some "additional" stock. As a result of the Navara's exceptional performance, the Mahindra Pik Up, assembled in KwaZulu-Natal, fell to the sixth position with 744 units sold.
GWM's P-Series retained the seventh position with 591 units, while the updated Toyota Land Cruiser 79 range, now offering 4-cylinder power and an automatic transmission, climbed to eighth place with 454 registrations. The South Africa-built Volkswagen Amarok slipped to ninth place with 421 units sold, while the GWM Steed closed out the top 10 with 76 units.
Outside of the top 10, notable bakkies in March 2024 included the JAC T-Series with 131 units (combined figure for T6, T8, and new T9 line-ups), Peugeot Landtrek with 60 units, Mitsubishi Triton with 53 units, and Mahindra Bolero with 25 units.
Although the Mazda BT-50 has been discontinued in South Africa, the local division managed to sell 12 units in March 2024. The Jeep Gladiator, set to launch a facelifted version later in 2024, rounded out the list with only 5 registrations.
Here is the list of the top 10 best-selling bakkies in South Africa for March 2024:
- Toyota Hilux - 3,104 units
- Nissan Navara - 2,277 units
- Isuzu D-Max - 2,095 units
- Ford Ranger - 1,954 units
- Nissan NP200 - 1,113 units
- Mahindra Pik Up - 744 units
- GWM P-Series - 591 units
- Toyota Land Cruiser 79 - 454 units
- Volkswagen Amarok - 421 units
- GWM Steed - 76 units
