Suzuki Swift leads SA car market again in April as buyers shift to more affordable models
The Suzuki Swift was South Africa's top-selling passenger car in April
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.
The market also appears to be leaning more to the affordable end of the scale, with WesBank noting that the average deal size has shrunk by 8.6% year on year.
“The competitive price point of new Chinese entrants will also be influencing this shift as consumers seek alternative value in the market,” said WesBank marketing head Lebo Gaoaketse.
While the domestic market showed positive growth, South African exports decreased by 6.6% to 31,822 units amid the uncertainty, Naamsa reported.
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