Johannesburg - Although January’s record load shedding put a damper on all industries, South Africa’s bakkie market kicked the year off on a relatively positive note.
According to Naamsa, light commercial vehicle sales last month grew by 10.4% versus January last year, with 10 622 units finding homes. By contrast, the passenger car market grew by just 2.9% to 30 199 units, while the total vehicle market gained 4.8% year-on-year.
As you might have expected, the Toyota Hilux was South Africa’s No.1 selling bakkie in January 2023, with a total volume of 2 769 units. The battle for second place was closely fought, with the Isuzu D-Max, at 1 273 sales, narrowly beating the Ford Ranger, which managed a volume of 1 269.
The Mahindra Scorpio also enjoyed an exceptionally strong month, with 886 sales putting it in fifth place overall, while the Toyota Land Cruiser Pik-Up also recorded a better-than-usual volume of 468. Good harvest this season? The ‘Cruiser beat the Nissan Navara (351) and GWM P-Series (286).
Among the lower-volume double cabs, the Mitsubishi Triton emerged victorious with 65 sales, followed by the JAC X-Series (55) and outgoing Volkswagen Amarok (51).
The Jeep Gladiator managed a not inconsiderable 32 sales, followed by its Stellantis cousin the Peugeot Landtrek, at 19. The Mazda BT-50 managed just 7 unit sales last month.
SOUTH AFRICAN BAKKIE SALES RANKING: JANUARY 2022
- 1. Toyota Hilux - 2 769
- 2. Isuzu D-Max - 1 273
- 3. Ford Ranger - 1 269
- 4. Nissan NP200 - 886
- 5. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 819
- 6. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 468
- 7. Nissan Navara - 351
- 8. GWM P-Series - 286
- 9. Hyundai H100 Bakkie - 171
- 10. Suzuki Super Carry - 144
- 11. GWM Steed - 87
- 12. Kia K2700 - 85
- 13. Mitsubishi Triton - 65
- 14. JAC X-Series - 55
- 15. Volkswagen Amarok - 51
- 16. Mahindra Bolero - 47
- 17. JAC T-Series - 32
- 18. Jeep Gladiator - 32
- 19. Peugeot Landtrek - 19
- 20. Kia K2500 - 8
- 21. Mazda BT-50 - 7
- 22. Volkswagen Transporter PU - 6
After a relatively exciting 2022 that brought us the all-new Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max, 2023 is looking to be a somewhat quieter year on the bakkie front.
There are still some exciting entrants however, including the all-new Volkswagen Amarok, which launches imminently. Renault is also aiming to introduce the Oroch compact bakkie by the end of this year, and don’t be surprised if GWM has a few new tricks up its sleeve too.
Load shedding hindering auto industry
While the overall vehicle market continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace than last year, the destructive higher states of load shedding are having a negative impact on vehicle production and component manufacturing in the country.
“Load shedding is the biggest inhibitor to drive the industry’s localisation ambitions, create sustainable jobs within the auto sector and to further attract investment opportunities into the country to grow the South African economy,” said Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa.
“We welcome government’s intent announced recently to declare loadshedding a national state of disaster so that urgent resources and solutions can be mobilised to assist the country to recover from the current energy crisis,” he added.