Guess which car is South Africa’s best-seller?
For the first time in as long as anyone can remember, South Africa’s best-selling car in January 2025 is not a bakkie. Here’s more …
Congratulations are for the new Suzuki Swift, which was South Africa’s best-selling car in January 2025. Not just that, but Suzuki Auto South Africa overtook Volkswagen South African as the second best-selling vehicle brand in January 2025, reports The Citizen.
Besides the accolade of South Africa’s best-selling car, 2025 has started off in style with four more sales records for the Japanese firm. According to the latest official sales figures – published by industry body NAAMSA – 6 399 new Suzukis were sold during January 2025. This improves upon its previous overall sales record set in November 2024 by 370 units.
SOUTH AFRICA’S BEST-SELLING CAR
These figures consist of 4 534 dealer sales and 1 865 fleet/rental/government sales. Specifically, it was the new fourth-generation Swift that led the January sales race for Suzuki with 2 628 units sold. This represents the highest number Swifts sold in a single month since back in June 2022 (1 925 units).
“Suzuki Auto South Africa is truly humbled by these achievements. We are grateful for the response from the market and pleased to see how the new fourth-generation Swift has been so well received so soon after its local launch,” says Henno Havenga, General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Suzuki Auto South Africa.
POSITIVE UPTICK IN SALES
Moreover, the Swift didn’t just beat out all the bakkies, it also becomes the first fully imported vehicle to top South Africa’s best-selling car list in as long as anyone can remember. The Volkswagen Polo Vivo (2 549 units), Ford Ranger (1 858), Isuzu D-Max (1 413), and others in the top five, are all locally assembled vehicles.
After a poor 2024, the 10.4% uptick in January sales should be cause for celebration. 46 398 units compared to 42 023 one-year ago. New passenger vehicles jumped 18.3% from 29 181 to an impressive 34 530. Unfortunately, their gain was light commercial vehicles’ loss. Bakkies went the other way, shedding 9.1% sales from 10 894 last year to a worrying 9 901 in January 2025.