South Africa May 2023: Toyota (+71%) caches up on low year-ago volumes, market up 10.1%

Toyota holds 26.5% of the South African market in May.

New vehicle sales in South Africa gain 10.1% year-on-year in May to 43,060 units, leading to a year-to-date volume up 3% to 218,869. Exports are up a whopping 67.5% this month to 39,101 and up 9.3% year-to-date to 146,985. Among manufacturers present in the country, Toyota (+71%) catches up on a year-ago volume plagued by floods to lead the charts with 26.5% share. It is followed by the VW Group (+10.1%) exactly matching the market and Suzuki (-14.4%) in difficulty. The next four manufacturers all underperform, with Hyundai (-9.7%) and Haval (-3%) in negative and Ford (+1.8%) and Nissan (+0.7%) only edging up. Below, Isuzu (+24.2%) shines just as newcomer Chery drops one spot on April to #12.

In the models charts, the Toyota Hilux (+104.5%) reclaims the top spot off the Ford Ranger (+35.9%). with the VW Polo Vivo (+59.1%) and Toyota Corolla Cross camping on their April ranking at #3 and #4 respectively. The Isuzu D-Max (+33.7%) is solid at #5, distancing the Toyota Hiace (+178.3%) and Starlet. The Haval Jolion (#13) leads the Chinese charge ahead of the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (#14) and GWM P-Series (#22). Notice also the new Suzuki Grand Vitara imported from India landing at #30 and the new Toyota Vitz up to #37.

Previous month: South Africa April 2023: Ford Ranger topples Toyota Hilux to #1, new Toyota Vitz lands

One year ago: South Africa May 2022: Suzuki Swift leads for the first time, Toyota plagued by flooding, sales up 2.1%

Full May 2023 Top 35 All manufacturers and Top 50 models below.