The waning popularity of sedans and hatchbacks has coincided with the explosive growth of SUVs and crossovers in recent years.
Buyers have flocked to them for their elevated ground clearance and practicality, and in 2021 SUVs/crossovers overtook hatchbacks as South Africa's most popular new car segment. In 2023 the trend continued with the SUV/crossover segment accounting for 51% of sales, followed by hatchbacks (37%) and sedans (7%).
Toyota, the country’s best-selling brand overall, ruled the crossover/SUV charts with the Corolla Cross as the top performer last year with 22,592 sales and the Fortuner (10,384) in second place.
Since its launch in November 2021 the locally-built Corolla Cross has been a great success for the brand, and playing a large part in the feat is that the petrol-electric model is the country’s most affordable hybrid car.
Chery and Tiggo took the third and fourth places with Haval also in the top ten, continuing the rise in popularity of Chinese brands in recent years.
The locally-manufactured Fortuner, built on the Hilux bakkie platform, was recently given a refresh and continues to dominate the large SUV market with more than triple the sales of its nearest rival, the new-generation Ford Everest. The Toyota Land Cruiser 300 and Land Rover Defender are respectively third and fourth in the sub segment.
The Ford EcoSport which once ruled the crossover segment was discontinued last year but sold enough units to be ranked 31st overall. Ford has no direct replacement but launched the Puma, a slightly larger and much more expensive crossover, late last year. Due to being in the market for such a short time it sold 368 units in 2023 and did not feature in the list of top 50 sellers.
BEST SELLING CROSSOVERS/SUVS 2023
- Toyota Corolla Cross — 22,592
- Toyota Fortuner — 10,384
- Chery Tiggo 4 Pro — 9,916
- Haval Jolion — 8,589
- Nissan Magnite — 8,581
- Volkswagen T-Cross — 7,152
- Kia Sonet — 6,511
- Toyota Urban Cruiser — 5,992
- Haval H6 — 5,668
- Hyundai Venue — 5,156
- Renault Kiger — 5,127
- Chery Tiggo 7 Pro — 3,869
- BMW X3 — 3,157
- Ford Everest — 3,113
- Volkswagen Tiguan — 2,668
- Suzuki Grand Vitara — 2,621
- Renault Kiger Turbo — 2,598
- Toyota Land Cruiser 300 — 2,371
- Chery Tiggo 8 Pro — 2,325
- Suzuki Jimny — 2,246
- Kia Seltos — 2,230
- Volkswagen T-Roc — 2,218
- Suzuki Fronx — 2,048
- Hyundai Tucson — 1,976
- BMW X1 — 1,734
- Hyundai Creta — 1,690
- Volkswagen Taigo — 1,451
- Mahindra XUV300 — 1,434
- Land Rover Defender — 1,398
- Mazda CX-5 — 1,369
- Ford EcoSport — 1,364
- Suzuki Vitara Brezza — 1,282
- Toyota Prado — 1,274
- Toyota Rav — 1,100
- Isuzu MU-X — 1,099
- Hyundai Grand Creta — 1,098
- Mahindra Scorpio-N — 1,017
- BMW X5 — 971
- Kia Sportage — 928
- Nissan Qashqai — 880
- Porsche Cayenne — 848
- Audi Q2 — 831
- Mercedes-Benz GLC — 816
- Mazda CX-3 — 765
- Audi Q3 — 764
- Mercedes-Benz GLE — 738
- Mitsubishi Xpander — 721
- Renault Duster — 685
- Honda BR-V — 678
- Nissan X-Trail — 678
* Source: Naamsa
These were South Africa’s best selling SUVs in 2023
The growing SUV/crossover segment accounted for 51% of sales last year, followed by hatchbacks (37%) and sedans (7%)
Image: Supplied
The waning popularity of sedans and hatchbacks has coincided with the explosive growth of SUVs and crossovers in recent years.
Buyers have flocked to them for their elevated ground clearance and practicality, and in 2021 SUVs/crossovers overtook hatchbacks as South Africa's most popular new car segment. In 2023 the trend continued with the SUV/crossover segment accounting for 51% of sales, followed by hatchbacks (37%) and sedans (7%).
Toyota, the country’s best-selling brand overall, ruled the crossover/SUV charts with the Corolla Cross as the top performer last year with 22,592 sales and the Fortuner (10,384) in second place.
Since its launch in November 2021 the locally-built Corolla Cross has been a great success for the brand, and playing a large part in the feat is that the petrol-electric model is the country’s most affordable hybrid car.
Chery and Tiggo took the third and fourth places with Haval also in the top ten, continuing the rise in popularity of Chinese brands in recent years.
The locally-manufactured Fortuner, built on the Hilux bakkie platform, was recently given a refresh and continues to dominate the large SUV market with more than triple the sales of its nearest rival, the new-generation Ford Everest. The Toyota Land Cruiser 300 and Land Rover Defender are respectively third and fourth in the sub segment.
The Ford EcoSport which once ruled the crossover segment was discontinued last year but sold enough units to be ranked 31st overall. Ford has no direct replacement but launched the Puma, a slightly larger and much more expensive crossover, late last year. Due to being in the market for such a short time it sold 368 units in 2023 and did not feature in the list of top 50 sellers.
BEST SELLING CROSSOVERS/SUVS 2023
* Source: Naamsa
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