The new Suzuki Swift officially became the best-selling new vehicle in South Africa in January. Image: Suzuki
Having ended 2024 on a positive note, South Africa’s new vehicle sales continued their upward momentum into January, with a substantial increase of over 10 percent.
Emerging as the biggest surprise, the new Suzuki Swift took top honours as the country’s best-selling vehicle, with a record uptake of 2 628 units.
In displacing not only the Toyota Hilux as the monthly best-seller, the Swift also becomes the first non-locally assembled vehicle to top the 10 best-sellers list in years, which comprised no less than six other products not made in South Africa.
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Taking second with 2 557 units, the Hilux finished ahead of the Kariega-assembled Volkswagen Polo Vivo (2 549) and its arch-rivals, the Ford Ranger (1 858) and Isuzu D-Max (1 413), as only the other South African-made vehicles in the first five.
Finishing sixth as the last locally produced vehicle in the top 10, the Toyota Corolla Cross’ 1 226 units saw it place above the Hyundai Grand i10 (1 212) and Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (1 222), with the remaining two places going to the GWM Haval Jolion (1 099) and the Toyota Starlet Cross (1 050).
With an exact uptake of 10.4%, the January figures by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) tops out at 46 398 units compared to the 42 023 of 12 months ago.
In the various segments, new passenger vehicles jumped 18.3% from 29 181 to 34 530, while light commercial vehicles went the other way by shedding 9.1% to end the month on 9 901 versus January 2024’s 10 894.
Also mixed, medium-duty commercial vehicle sales increased by 11.6% from 510 to 569, while heavy-duty trucks and buses lost 2.8% from 1 438 to 1 398.
After a largely negative 2024, new vehicle exports recorded a significant increase in January of 29.7% from 19 545 to 25 348.
In total, dealer sales made-up 81.4% or 46 398 vehicles sold, with the rest being split up as follows;
“The positive start to the year, marked by higher new vehicle sales, a further interest rate cut of 25 basis points during the month, and well-controlled inflation, along with promising prospects for a significantly improved domestic economic outlook, all contribute to a sense of optimism as we embark on 2025, “Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa said.
“Despite the short-lived and unexpected Stage 3 load shedding implemented on January 31, 2025, for the weekend, the country experienced a remarkable streak of over 300 days without load shedding, marking the first such period in seven years”.
Mabasa, however, also cautioned, “While the inflation outlook for the second half of the year remains positive, new inflation risks, such as the anticipated rise in tariffs on trade, have emerged.
“Additionally, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa [Nersa] has granted an electricity tariff increase of 12.74% for implementation on April 1, 2025, which is approximately three times the current Consumer Price Index [CPI] rate.
“However, early indicators suggest a potential turning point for the new vehicle market in 2025, driven by stronger economic prospects, growing consumer and business confidence, and improving new vehicle sales data”.
In addition to the Swift, Suzuki also replaced Volkswagen as the second best-selling brand in January, behind Toyota, for the first time in over 12 months.
Its total offset amounting to 6 399 units, the Hamamatsu-headquartered marque edged-out Wolfsburg, and by inclusion its Ingolstadt-based Audi division, by 723 units, with Toyota remaining well ahead on 12 152.
Staying steady from December were both Hyundai and Ford, the former with 2 760 vehicles sold and the Blue Oval with 2 467.
Also keeping their respective places from December are Chery and Great Wall Motors (GWM), the former amassing 1 913 units sold and the latter 1 756.
Jumping a place to eighth, Isuzu’s 1 733 sees above Mahindra, who enters the top 10 on 1 463 at the expense of Nissan and Renault. With two places dropped from December, Kia officially completes the top 10 brands on 1 428.
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