Suzuki Swift leads SA car market again in April as buyers shift to more affordable models
Image: Supplied
Despite a whirlwind of uncertainty collectively spun by US President Donald Trump's trade war, and South Africa's 2025 Budget impasse, the local new vehicle market showed remarkable resilience in April.
According to Naamsa, new vehicle sales totalled 42,401 units, an increase of 11.9%, versus the 37,899 units sold in April 2024. This was in spite of fewer selling days, owing to the configuration of public holidays this year. This followed a strong performance in March, which was the industry's best sales month in two years.
As has become the norm, passenger vehicle sales led the growth curve, increasing by 16.9% to 30,101 units last month, while light commercial vehicles grew by 3.2% to a total of 9,654.
Medium commercial vehicles, at 629 units, grew by 10.2%, while the heavies decreased by 11.1% to 1,710 units.
The Suzuki Swift enjoyed a stellar sales month, surging past the 2,000 mark once again to dominate the passenger car market, ahead of the Toyota Corolla Cross (1,584) and Hyundai Grand i10 (1,425).
With Volkswagen SA having temporarily shut its Kariega plant to tool up for its new compact SUV, which you can check out over here, the Polo Vivo, a regular front runner, fell to fourth place, at 1,366 units.
2024 Ford Ranger Platinum Ford's Ranger leads the double cab market.
Image: Supplied
On the bakkie front, the Toyota Hilux (2,780 units) led the Ford Ranger (1,728) and Isuzu D-Max (1,108).
As an interesting aside, Ford SA announced recently that it led the double cab market in the first three months of 2025, with its quarter-one volume of 5,193 units outpacing the Hilux by 534 units. In that time, Ford grew its double cab volume by 1.5%.
South Africa's 50 Best-Selling Vehicles: April 2025
Toyota Hilux - 2,780
Suzuki Swift - 2,053
Ford Ranger - 1,728
Toyota Corolla Cross - 1,584
Hyundai Grand i10 - 1,425
Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 1,366
Suzuki Fronx - 1,186
Chery Tiggo 4 Pro - 1,133
Isuzu D-Max - 1,108
Haval Jolion - 973
Toyota Starlet - 905
Toyota Starlet Cross - 834
Kia Sonet - 812
Suzuki Ertiga - 778
Volkswagen Polo - 768
Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 654
Toyota Fortuner - 606
Omoda C5 - 588
Toyota Hi-Ace - 571
Toyota Urban Cruiser - 539
Mahindra XUV 3XO - 515
GWM P-Series - 497
Renault Kiger - 470
Nissan Magnite - 449
Toyota Rumion - 448
Toyota Vitz - 433
Chery Tiggo 7 Pro - 427
Suzuki Baleno - 420
Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 417
Hyundai Exter - 381
Volkswagen T-Cross - 362
Renault Triber - 357
Jetour Dashing - 334
Suzuki Jimny - 319
Suzuki S-Presso - 316
Ford Everest - 311
Renault Kwid - 300
Hyundai i20 - 295
Nissan Navara - 293
Hyundai Venue - 285
Ford Territory - 257
Toyota Land Cruiser Prado - 257
Volkswagen Amarok - 254
Haval H6 - 246
Jetour X70 Plus - 239
Suzuki Eeco - 233
Foton Tunland G7 - 212
Volkswagen Polo Sedan - 208
Volkswagen Tiguan - 207
Suzuki Celerio - 202
In the manufacturer's ranking, Suzuki surged to second place with an impressive 5,977 units, from Volkswagen's 3,873 units, while Toyota led the way overall with sales of 10,363 vehicles.
Toyota - 10,363
Suzuki Auto - 5,977
Volkswagen - 3,973
Hyundai - 3,007
Ford - 2,398
GWM SA - 1,943
Chery Auto - 1,852
Isuzu - 1,383
Renault - 1,281
Mahindra - 1,278
'Despite global economic headwinds and a relatively short trading month, the local auto sector, once again, delivered solid numbers, a pleasant surprise to even the most avid industry observers,' said Brandon Cohen, Chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers' Association (NADA).
'The growth in the LCV segment is especially encouraging, pointing to an economy that is in better shape than one would surmise,' Cohen added.
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