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A guide to South Africa’s most popular car brands in 2025

From trusted bakkies to budget hatchbacks and bold new Chinese entries—here’s what South Africans are really driving in 2025, and why it matters.
Charles Ames
· March 25, 2025
A guide to South Africa’s most popular car brands in 2025

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Only about one in five South Africans owns a vehicle. Compare that, for example, with car-crazy New Zealand, which is home to roughly one car per human being.

But South Africa’s 12-million drivers do get a massive kick out of their motorised chariots—new sales figures suggest the love is still deep, especially compared to car-buying trends in South Africa in 2024.

Nearly 50,000 new cars and trucks purred out of showrooms in February 2025 —a 17% rise on last February’s total, suggesting consumer confidence in South Africa may be ticking up.

This guide breaks down the best-selling car brands and models in South Africa for 2025, revealing key trends, market shifts, and what drivers are choosing now.

Legends lead the sales race

More than 11,000 car sales in South Africa were of updated modern classics made by the big manufacturers—car models and vehicle types that have been around for 20 years or more. Three of these evergreen—the top-selling Toyota Hilux, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo and the Ford Ranger—all cracked the top 5 for units sold:

  • Toyota Hilux – 2,683
  • Suzuki Swift – 2,351
  • Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2,187
  • Ford Ranger – 2,168
  • Isuzu D-Max –1,924

(*Complete sales chart and overall brand rankings at the bottom of this article.)

Clearly, South Africans don’t lack loyalty to four-wheeled legends. But what lies ahead? Will the fast-rising Chinese carmakers catch up to the legacy brands in South Africa? And when will EVs get a look in?

Read on for a peek into the car-buying mind of South Africa—what cars drivers are buying and why ...

The Hilux wins the pickup war, again

A perennial contender in the top 5, the Toyota Hilux was the overall champion model in February, with 2,683 units sold.

The Hilux has a healthy lead over its two nearest rivals in the hotly contested bakkie market, the Ford Ranger, which came in at fourth place overall with 2168 sales, and the fifth-placed Isuzu D-Max at 1,924 units.

“Bakkie” is the South African word for the pickup truck—a machine whose practicality for local roads, landscapes and lifestyles makes it an ever-swelling category. In a sprawling country that is rich in both potholes and outdoor adventure, families and small businesses are increasingly switching from big SUVs to the cost-effectiveness and robustness of the twin-cab pickup

Polo and Swift dice for passenger glory

The Volkswagen Polo Vivo claims gold in the passenger vehicle sales race with 2,187 sales (and second place overall)—keeping its status as an affordable dream car for first-time buyers.

But snapping at the Polo’s heels was the Suzuki Swift, on 2,351 sales—the little samurai has led Suzuki’s dramatic overtaking of Volkswagen in the overall sales race. Suzuki is now SA’s second-biggest selling brand, behind Toyota.

The Chinese challenge is getting stronger

The Chery group’s return to the South African market in 2022—bringing its Omoda, Jaecoo and Jetour sub-brands—has given consumers a new array of value-for-money Chinese-made SUVs and crossovers.

That means GWM’s explosive growth with its Haval models since 2019 has levelled off, and Chery is now seventh in the top brands' chart, ahead of GWM in eighth.

The overall Chinese total is still rising fast and will keep on doing so, given the rand’s retreat and SA’s hunger for affordable flashiness. The current market leaders still have an edge when it comes to brand loyalty and SA-made models—but all that can change.

When will EVs finally plug into SA?

It’s telling that no electric vehicles appear on the chart. SA’s EV market has been tiny to date—due to a lack of charging infrastructure, the price premium on EVs, and the absence of market leader Tesla.

But there are some modest signs of life. The plug-in market crossed the 1,000-unit barrier in 2024, and more affordable high-end EVs, such as the BYD Seal, have arrived. Meanwhile, big-selling hybrid cars like the Toyota Corolla Cross could give consumers a seductive taste of life after petrol.

SA’s road trip culture makes highway charging points tricky. While we are starting to see more charging stations popping up on our roads, coverage is still patchy, especially across long-distance routes.

Ultimately, mass adoption of EVs will depend on a simple sum—can an EV be cheaper (over a two- or three-year horizon) than a gas guzzler? Until that’s the case, budget-conscious South African drivers won’t be going electric en masse.

The future of the ‘extra car’ in SA households

According to Stats SA, about 59% of South African households that own vehicles have only one.

Many two-parent families with multiple routines have two or three cars, often including a small urban runaround. In years to come, these are likely to become small EVs, as city charging points roll out.

When these families move between distant cities, that small second or third car needs to be moved—and it isn’t made for a long-haul drive. That’s when Wise Move's car transport comes in handy—your go-to moving booking website, allowing you to easily compare movers’ quotes to move a vehicle on a truck—either as part of a home move or separately.

The 50 top-selling vehicles in South Africa

Here are the latest monthly sales figures by model from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA). (as of February 2025):

    1. Toyota Hilux – 2,683

    2. Suzuki Swift – 2,351

    3. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2,187

    4. Ford Ranger – 2,168

    5. Isuzu D–Max – 1,924

    6. Toyota Corolla Cross – 1,435

    7. Toyota Starlet – 1,279

    8. Hyundai Grand i10 – 1,253

    9. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – 1,147

    10. Suzuki Fronx – 1,123

    11. Toyota Starlet Cross – 1,003

    12. Haval Jolion – 982

    13. Toyota Urban Cruiser – 875

    14. Kia Sonet – 873

    15. Volkswagen Polo – 832

    16. Nissan Magnite – 808

    17. Mahindra Scorpio Pik–Up – 763

    18. Renault Kwid – 750

    19. Mahindra XUV 3X0 – 657

    20. Toyota Fortuner – 634

    21. Toyota Hi–Ace – 634

    22. Suzuki Ertiga – 627

    23. Omoda C5 – 552

    24. Toyota Vitz – 551

    25. Toyota Land Cruiser PU – 534

    26. Toyota Rumion – 482

    27. Volkswagen T–Cross – 462

    28. Hyundai Exter – 428

    29. Nissan Navara – 412

    30. Renault Kiger – 400

    31. Chery Tiggo 7 Pro – 384

    32. Toyota Prado – 375

    33. Suzuki Baleno – 360

    34. Volkswagen Polo Sedan – 346

    35. Hyundai i20 – 317

    36. Ford Territory – 304

    37. Volkswagen Amarok – 290

    38. Hyundai Venue – 284

    39. Haval H6 – 274

    40. Suzuki Jimny – 274

    41. Suzuki Grand Vitara – 271

    42. Suzuki S–Presso – 267

    43. Ford Everest – 263

    44. Volkswagen Tiguan – 258

    45. Jetour Dashing – 252

    46. Renault Triber – 247

    47. Nissan Magnite Move – 247

    48. GWM P–Series – 232

    49. Suzuki Eeco – 231

    50. Citroen C3 – 223

The 10 top-selling car brands in South Africa

Here are NAAMSA’s totals (as of February 2025) for car units sold by brand:

  1. Toyota – 11,743

  2. Suzuki Auto – 6,044

  3. Volkswagen – 5,249

  4. Hyundai Automotive – 3,074

  5. Ford Motor Company – 2,900

  6. Isuzu Motors SA – 2,298

  7. Chery Auto SA – 1,924

  8. GWM SA – 1,713

  9. Mahindra – 1,610

  10. Nissan – 1,497

  11. Kia – 1,491

  12. Renault – 1,466

  13. BMW Group – 1,256

  14. Omoda and Jaecoo – 772

  15. Stellantis – 501

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