South Africa Full Year 2018: Toyota Hilux records 9th win in past 10 years, VW Polo up 30% to #3

The Toyota Hilux has topped the South African charts for 9 of the past 10 years.

Consult 45 years of South African Historical Data here.

New vehicle sales in South Africa are back in negative for the 4th time in the past 5 years at -1% year-on-year in 2018 to 552.190 units. Exports on the other hand gain 3.9% to a new all-time record 351.154 units, boosted by December volumes up 56.3% to 31.437. Toyota (+4.8%) remains the most popular manufacturer un the country by far, even improving its share to 24.2% just as the Volkswagen Group (+3.4%) also progresses to 16.3%. In contrast, Ford (-18.2%) tumbles down to 10.6% share and is now threatened by Nissan (+7%) at 10%. With stable sales, Hyundai drops one spot to #5. Renault (+12.7%) and Mazda (+9.5%) also impress in the remainder of the Top 10, while further down Great Wall Motors (+55.5%), Suzuki (+37.2%), Volvo (+36.8%), Peugeot-Citroen (+30.6%) and Mahindra (+25.8%) are among the most dynamic.

Model-wise, the Toyota Hilux (+9.9%) records a 6th consecutive crown and 9th win over the past 10 years thanks to deliveries crossing the 40.000 annual sales milestone for the first time in history. The Hilux even extend its lead over its archenemy the Ford Ranger (-8.1%) to almost 10.000 units vs. just 3.600 a year ago. The VW Polo (+30%) takes advantage of the new generation to overtake its ancestor the Polo Vivo (-4.7%) while the Nissan NP200 (+29.6%) shows impressive poise to climbs back inside the the annual Top 5 for the first time since 2012. The Hyundai Grand i10 (+107.9%) more than doubles its sales year-on-year to break into the Top 10 at #10, with the Isuzu KB (+7.1%) and Toyota Quantum (+5.7%) also improving their shares but the Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest (-10.5%) and Fortuner (-4.4%) are struggling. Further down, the Toyota Yaris (+436.8%) ends its first full year in market at #14, the Nissan Micra (+166.4%), Hyundai Creta (+88.5%), VW Tiguan (+50.6%), Ford Figo (+47.8%), Suzuki Swift (+37.5%), Renault Clio (+37.2%), Datsun Go (+26%) and Renault Kwid (+20.8%) make waves and the Toyota Rush (#55) is the most popular 2018 launch.

Previous month: South Africa November 2018: VW Polo and Polo Vivo jump up in market down 4.6%

Previous year: South Africa 2017: Toyota Hilux snaps 8th win in past 9 years

Two years ago: South Africa 2016: Toyota Hilux sovereign in market down 11%

Full Year 2018 Top 35 All-manufacturers and Top 330 All-models vs. Full Year 2017 figures below.

Full December 2018 Top 35 All-manufacturers and Top 245 All-models below.