These were SA’s most popular cars of 2022
The motor industry bounced back despite economic headwinds, and Denis Droppa crunches the numbers to see who were the sales winners
If new-vehicle sales are a barometer of the health of the domestic economy things are looking up as cars and commercial vehicles zoomed out of showrooms at a healthy rate in 2022.
The 528,963 cars, light commercials and trucks sold recorded a 13.9% increase on 2021 and just 1.4% below the pre-pandemic 536,612 units sold in 2019. The strong performance took place despite global shortages of semiconductors and wiring harnesses, and local factors like rising interest rates, inflation reaching a 13-year high, and record fuel prices.
The KwaZulu-Natal flooding disaster forced market leader Toyota to shut its Durban car factory for four months and halt production of best-selling models such as the Hilux, Corolla Cross and Hiace, but the carmaker weathered the storm with strong sales of imported models such as the Urban Cruiser, Starlet and Agya to maintain its position as SA’s most popular motoring brand.
Toyota managed to grow its sales 12.22% year on year (though its market share fell slightly, from 25.33% to 24.96%). At 132,035 units it ended the year with nearly double the sales of its closest competitor, Volkswagen (69,801 units) with a 13.20% market share.
The Hilux continued its reign as SA’s best-selling vehicle ahead of the Volkswagen Polo Vivo, while the Polo hatchback was overtaken by the Suzuki Swift, Toyota Urban Cruiser and Toyota Corolla Cross.
Ford’s Ranger was in runout phase as the Silverton factory tooled up to start building its replacement, but the one-tonner still shifted 17,341 units to make it SA’s third best-selling vehicle overall. Other popular bakkies were the locally-built Isuzu D-Max, Nissan NP200 and Nissan Navara.
In 2022 Mahindra grew its sales volumes by 78% compared to the previous year, making it SA’s fastest-growing automotive brand.
Another automaker that experienced strong year-on-year growth was Suzuki Auto (+71.04%), which moved the firm from sixth to third most popular brand in SA in 2022, with a market share of 8.92%.
Renault registered a leap of 29.61% and grew its market share to 5.15%, leaving the French firm sixth overall in the most popular brand rankings for 2022. Volkswagen was the only brand in the top 10 to record fewer sales than the year before, with a 2.5% drop.
Chinese carmakers continued their impressive growth with Haval leading the way on 22,644 units, making it SA’s ninth most popular brand with a 4.28% market share. GWM’s Steed and P-Series bakkies remained popular too, with both ranges shifting more than 4,000 units in 2022. Returning Chinese brand Chery, despite only starting to report its sales from the middle of the year, recorded an impressive 8,013 units in the second half of 2022.
Electric-vehicle sales rose 132% off a very low base to 506 units (from 218 in 2021) with the launch of new battery-powered models from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo.
SA’s 10 best-selling motor brands of 2022
- Toyota — 132,035 units (+12.2%)
- Volkswagen Group — 69,801 units (-2.5%)
- Suzuki — 47,178 units (+71.0%)
- Hyundai — 36,047 units (+7.7%)
- Nissan — 30,487 units (+1.0%)
- Renault — 27,251 units (+29.6%)
- Ford — 26,335 units (-15.4%)
- Kia — 22,766 units (+12.9%)
- Haval — 22,644 units (+18.8%)
- Isuzu — 21,274 units (+7.0%)
SA’s best-selling vehicles of 2022 — top 50
- Toyota Hilux — 32,203
- Volkswagen Polo Vivo — 20,866
- Ford Ranger — 17,341
- Suzuki Swift — 17,282
- Isuzu D-Max — 17,062
- Toyota Urban Cruiser — 16,992
- Toyota Corolla Cross — 15,841
- Volkswagen Polo — 15,697
- Toyota Hi-Ace — 13,687
- Toyota Starlet — 12,921
- Nissan NP200 — 12,859
- VW T-Cross — 10,384
- Renault Kwid — 9,770
- Haval Jolion — 9,068
- Renault Kiger — 8,532
- Mahindra Scorpio Pik Up — 8,044
- Toyota Fortuner — 7,805
- Suzuki Vitara Brezza — 7,425
- Hyundai Venue — 7,212
- Hyundai Atos — 7,141
- Kia Picanto — 7,137
- Ford EcoSport — 6,790
- Renault Triber — 6,575
- Hyundai Grand i10 — 6,316
- Nissan Navara — 6,067
- Nissan Magnite — 6,065
- Toyota Agya — 5,798
- Suzuki S-Presso — 4,953
- Haval H6 — 4,771
- Toyota Corolla Quest - 4,688
- Chery Tiggo 4 Pro — 4,622
- GWM Steed — 4,521
- Toyota Rumion — 4,050
- Suzuki Jimny — 3,970
- Hyundai i20 — 3,843
- VW Polo Sedan — 3,770
- Toyota Land Cruiser Pick up - 3,517
- Kia Rio — 3,510
- Nissan Almera — 3,477
- Kia Sonet — 3,319
- BMW X3 — 3,224
- Suzuki Baleno — 2,832
- Suzuki Ertiga — 2,815
- Suzuki DZire — 2,763
- Mercedes C-Class — 2,718
- VW Tiguan — 2,613
- Kia Seltos — 2,501
- VW T-Roc — 2,407
- Hyundai H100 Bakkie — 2,300
- Mazda CX-5 — 2,297
EV sales in 2022
- BMW iX3 — 106
- Mini Cooper SE — 96
- Audi E-Tron — 75
- BMW iX — 70
- Volvo XC40 Recharge — 59
- BMW i4 — 35
- BMW i3 — 19
- Mercedes EQA — 15
- BMW i7 — 10
- Mercedes EQB — 7
- Porsche Taycan — 7
- Mercedes EQS — 4
- Jaguar iPace — 3