Although largely dominated by imports, the 10 best-selling models were split evenly between imported vehicles and those locally assembled.
Having so far failed to record a downturn since October last year, South Africa’s new vehicles ended the first six months of 2025 on a total of 232 474 vehicles sold compared to the 245 971 of 12 months ago.
Positive outlook
While down, despite having breached 40 000 units every month, the lowest being 42 401 in April, the industry still seems on-track to overtake the projected 500 000 mark this year in what will be the third consecutive year since the global pandemic.
“The domestic outlook for 2025 is expected to improve, driven by a revival in business and consumer sentiment stemming from improvements in the country’s key economic indicators,” the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) said in its projection report for 2025 at the end of last year.
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“The South African Reserve Bank stated that risks to the country’s growth outlook are assessed to be balanced, but that growth could be higher from 2025 onwards, given ongoing reforms, especially in the network sectors, such as electricity and transport.
“With an improved GDP growth rate of around 1.5% projected for 2025, the new vehicle market would likely improve by single digits compared to the level of 2024,” the statement concluded.
With half the year gone, The Citizen now takes a look at the top 20 best-selling vehicles between January and June thus far, as well as the 10 performing brands.
Mid-year top 20 best-selling vehicles
| POS | MODEL | TOTAL | BEST MONTH |
| 1. | Toyota Hilux | 16 526 | June – 3 035 |
| 2. | Ford Ranger | 12 398 | June – 2 318 |
| 3. | Suzuki Swift | 11 948 | January – 2 628 |
| 4. | Volkswagen Polo Vivo | 11 310 | January – 2 549 |
| 5. | Isuzu D-Max | 9 846 | April – 2 250 |
| 6. | Toyota Corolla Cross | 9 576 | June – 2 318 |
| 7. | Hyundai Grand i10 | 8 581 | March – 1 504 |
| 8. | Toyota Starlet | 7 330 | January – 2 180 |
| 9. | Chery Tiggo 4 Pro | 7 297 | June – 1 538 |
| 10 | Suzuki Fronx | 6 466 | May – 1 219 |
| 11. | GWM Haval Jolion | 6 385 | June – 1 113 |
| 12. | Toyota Starlet Cross | 5 225 | January – 1 050 |
| 13. | Mahindra Pik Up | 5 079 | March – 1 215 |
| 14. | Nissan Magnite | 5 072 | March – 1 443 |
| 15. | Kia Sonet | 4 955 | February – 877 |
| 16. | Volkswagen Polo | 4 809 | March – 932 |
| 17. | Toyota Urban Cruiser | 4 247 | January – 890 |
| 18. | Suzuki Ertiga | 4 349 | June – 840 |
| 19. | Toyota Fortuner | 4 242 | June – 878 |
| 20. | Toyota HiAce | 3 758 | February – 711 |
Mid-year top 10 best-performing marques
- Toyota – 67 938
- Suzuki – 34 461
- Volkswagen Group – 29 366
- Hyundai – 18 100
- Ford – 16 662
- Isuzu – 12 221
- Great Wall Motors (GWM) – 11 835
- Chery – 11 687
- Mahindra – 9 611
- Kia – 8 234
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