South Africa March 2019: Toyota Hilux sovereign, Haval lands in market down -3.1%

The Toyota Hilux holds 8.9% of the South African market in March.

New vehicle sales in South Africa drop -3.1% year-on-year in March to 47.718 units, with passenger cars down -5.6% to 30.348 while light commercials gain 1.9% to 14.994. The rest of the market goes to medium and heavy trucks. The year-to-date tally is now down -4.8% to 134.479 units. In contrast, exports surge 23.7% year-on-year this month to 37.296, with local organisation NAAMSA saying the annual total could reach 400.000 units in 2019, smashing last year’s previous record of 351.139. Toyota (+3.7%) swims upstream to remain comfortably in the manufacturers lead with 24.7%, distancing the Volkswagen Group (-10.4%), Nissan (+0.1%) and Ford (-17.2%). Mahindra (+33.4%), Isuzu (+23.3%), Renault (+20.2%) and Suzuki (+13.6%) are the best performers in the Top 15 while Chinese brand Haval lands directly at #14. Model-wise, the Toyota Hilux (+11.2%) is head and shoulders above its followers the VW Polo Vivo (-9.4%), Ford Ranger (-13.7%) and Nissan NP200 (+37.3%). The Toyota Corolla (+44.9%) and Renault Kwid (+26.3%) also shine in the Top 10 while the Isuzu D-Max improves further to #7.

Previous month: South Africa February 2019: Toyota, Renault resist in market down 7.1%

One year ago: South Africa March 2018: VW Polo Vivo and Nissan NP200 up

Full March 2019 Top 37 All-manufacturers and Top 255 All-models below.