November vehicle sales sink as port and energy struggles bite

The brakes continued to be slammed on new vehicle sales in November, with the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) recording its biggest decrease of the year so far.

Locals still dominate

While no change prevailed at the top of the best-selling vehicle’s list, still headed by the Toyota Hilux on 3 073, its arch rival, the Ford Ranger, jumped from its traditional fourth position to second on 2 234 ahead of the relegated Volkswagen Polo Vivo (1 913) and Toyota Corolla Cross (1 766).

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Swapping fifth and sixth places from October were the Isuzu D-Max (1 662) and Toyota HiAce (1 549), followed by the Toyota Starlet (1 176) in an unchanged seventh position.

Set to be discontinued next year, the Nissan NP200 rose two positions from 10^th in October to eighth in November on 1 152, with ninth place going to the Suzuki Swift (1 117) ahead of third model assembled in India, the Hyundai Grand i10 (1 002).

Month breakdown

A downturn largely blamed on the implementation of stage six load shedding as well as logistical backlogs at the country’s ports, all but one of the various segments ended on a negative note with overall sales for November falling 13.4% from last year’s 49 986 to 43 281.

In the mentioned segments, new passenger vehicle fell 12.5% from 33 436 to 29 252, while light commercial vehicles shed a significantly more 16.2% from 2022’s 13 467 to 11 279 in 2023.

Less severe, but still in the red, medium-duty commercial vehicle sales lost 13.5% from 908 to 785, and heavy-duty commercials 10.7% for a total of 1 965 versus 2 175 of November last year.

Despite the mentioned port crisis, vehicle exports recorded a second straight month of increases 33 207 to 41 008 for a total uptake of 23.5%.

Top 10 brands

In terms of top 10 brands, an unchanged top four prevailed in November with Toyota placing ahead of Volkswagen, Suzuki and Ford on 11 891 versus 5 513, 4 368 and 2 910 respectively  

Trading fifth and sixth places though, Nissan (2 779 finished ahead of Hyundai (2 532), with Isuzu keeping station in seventh with sales of 2 109 and Renault in eighth place on 1 802.

Reversing the final two places from October were Haval and Kia on 1 556 and 1 546 respectively.

November Top 50 Best Selling Cars

1. Toyota Hilux – 3 073
2. Ford Ranger – 2 234
3. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 1 913
4. Toyota Corolla Cross – 1 766
5. Isuzu D-Max – 1 662
6. Toyota HiAce – 1 549
7. Toyota Starlet – 1 176
8. Nissan NP200 – 1 152
9. Suzuki Swift – 1 117
10. Hyundai Grand i10 – 1 002
11. Nissan Magnite – 997
12. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – 986
13. Volkswagen Polo – 930
14. Toyota Vitz – 855
15. Toyota Fortuner – 689
16. Kia Sonet – 675
17. Haval H6 – 654
18. Mahindra Pik Up – 606
19. Renault Kwid – 589
20. Toyota Corolla Quest – 582
21. Renault Kiger – 574
22. Hyundai i20 – 565
23. Toyota Urban Cruiser – 559
24. Suzuki Fronx – 547
25. Renault Triber – 539
26. Volkswagen T-Cross – 538
27. Suzuki Ertiga – 520
28. Haval Jolion – 508
29. Suzuki S-Presso – 446
30. Volkswagen Polo Sedan – 508
31. Suzuki Baleno – 414
32. Nissan Navara – 402
33. Volkswagen Amarok – 367
34. Suzuki Jimny – 350
35. Ford Everest – 346
36. Toyota Rumion – 330
37. Kia Picanto – 327
38. Chery Tiggo 7 Pro – 309
39. Hyundai Tucson – 295
40. GWM P-Series – 284
41. Toyota Land Cruiser 70-series – 278
42. Suzuki Grand Vitara – 238
43. Toyota Land Cruiser 300 – 222
44. Hyundai H100 – 215
45. Suzuki DZire – 213
46. Chery Tiggo 8 Pro – 206
47. Suzuki Celerio – 204
48. Kia Seltos – 200
49. Volkswagen Tiguan – 178
50. Nissan Qashqai – 163

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