Toyota remained Mzansi’s favourite brand and the Hilux bakkie the best-selling model in January as new vehicle sales started the year weakly.
The 41,636 new vehicles sold were down 3.8% from the 43,294 units in January 2023, making it the sixth consecutive month of declining sales year-on-year.
Passenger cars took a big hit with 28,790 sales, dropping 6.7% compared with 30,863 in January 2023. However, sales of light commercials, including bakkies and minibuses, improved 2.3% to 10,871 units.
“It seems the dreaded 'Januworry' has taken effect with a further decline in consumer affordability due to the cost of living increases and the political climate uncertainty of an election year. Even the fact that the vehicle rental industry bought 11.5% of vehicles sold in January could not prevent another month of decline,” said National Automobile Dealers' Association chairperson Brandon Cohen.
“January’s weaker performance continued the trend in declining year-on-year sales the market has experienced since August,” said WesBank head of marketing and communications Lebo Gaoaketse. “But this performance should consider more realistic market figures to compare against the previous year than the skewed data since the pandemic years.”
WesBank expects efforts to stimulate demand in the market.
“Banks may increase their risk appetite with lower quoted rates on deals to capture market share,” said Gaoaketse.
“Brands and dealers will also be hungry to convert sales, offering enticing incentives that may provide an opportunity for the market to remain buoyant.”
Toyota comfortably retained its long-running market leadership last month with 10,855 sales, ahead of Volkswagen (5,522), Suzuki (5,235), Ford (2,420) and Nissan (2,315).
Top 30 selling new vehicles in January 2024:
- Toyota Hilux — 2,645
- VW Polo Vivo — 2,034
- Ford Ranger — 1,914
- Toyota Corolla Cross — 1,660
- Suzuki Swift — 1,566
- Toyota Starlet — 1,479
- Isuzu D-Max — 1,336
- Toyota Hiace — 1,194
- VW Polo — 1,079
- Toyota Fortuner — 974
- Nissan NP200 — 969
- Chery Tiggo 4 Pro — 914
- Nissan Magnite — 843
- Hyundai Grand i10 -766
- Suzuki Ertiga — 657
- Suzuki Baleno — 625
- Toyota Vitz — 622
- Toyota Urban Cruiser — 589
- Mahindra Scorpion Pik-Up — 578
- Haval Jolion — 567
- Kia Sonet — 510
- VW T-Cross — 502
- Renault Kiger — 483
- Suzuki Jimny — 445
- Suzuki S-Presso — 434
- Haval H6 — 421
- Suzuki Fronx — 391
- Renault Triber — 388
- Hyundai i20 — 379
- Toyota Rumion — 372
Hilux leads January sales as new vehicle market continues to struggle
These were the top 30 sellers in a market led by Toyota, Volkswagen and Suzuki
Image: Denis Droppa
Toyota remained Mzansi’s favourite brand and the Hilux bakkie the best-selling model in January as new vehicle sales started the year weakly.
The 41,636 new vehicles sold were down 3.8% from the 43,294 units in January 2023, making it the sixth consecutive month of declining sales year-on-year.
Passenger cars took a big hit with 28,790 sales, dropping 6.7% compared with 30,863 in January 2023. However, sales of light commercials, including bakkies and minibuses, improved 2.3% to 10,871 units.
“It seems the dreaded 'Januworry' has taken effect with a further decline in consumer affordability due to the cost of living increases and the political climate uncertainty of an election year. Even the fact that the vehicle rental industry bought 11.5% of vehicles sold in January could not prevent another month of decline,” said National Automobile Dealers' Association chairperson Brandon Cohen.
“January’s weaker performance continued the trend in declining year-on-year sales the market has experienced since August,” said WesBank head of marketing and communications Lebo Gaoaketse. “But this performance should consider more realistic market figures to compare against the previous year than the skewed data since the pandemic years.”
WesBank expects efforts to stimulate demand in the market.
“Banks may increase their risk appetite with lower quoted rates on deals to capture market share,” said Gaoaketse.
“Brands and dealers will also be hungry to convert sales, offering enticing incentives that may provide an opportunity for the market to remain buoyant.”
Toyota comfortably retained its long-running market leadership last month with 10,855 sales, ahead of Volkswagen (5,522), Suzuki (5,235), Ford (2,420) and Nissan (2,315).
Top 30 selling new vehicles in January 2024:
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