These were South Africa’s best selling SUVs in 2023

The waning popularity of sedans and hatchbacks has coincided with the explosive growth of SUVs and crossovers in recent years.

Buyers have flocked to them for their elevated ground clearance and practicality, and in 2021 SUVs/crossovers overtook hatchbacks as South Africa's most popular new car segment. In 2023 the trend continued with the SUV/crossover segment accounting for 51% of sales, followed by hatchbacks (37%) and sedans (7%).

Toyota, the country’s best-selling brand overall, ruled the crossover/SUV charts with the Corolla Cross as the top performer last year with 22,592 sales and the Fortuner (10,384) in second place.

Since its launch in November 2021 the locally-built Corolla Cross has been a great success for the brand, and playing a large part in the feat is that the petrol-electric model is the country’s most affordable hybrid car.

Chery and Tiggo took the third and fourth places with Haval also in the top ten, continuing the rise in popularity of Chinese brands in recent years.

The locally-manufactured Fortuner, built on the Hilux bakkie platform, was recently given a refresh and continues to dominate the large SUV market with more than triple the sales of its nearest rival, the new-generation Ford Everest. The Toyota Land Cruiser 300 and Land Rover Defender are respectively third and fourth in the sub segment.

The Ford EcoSport which once ruled the crossover segment was discontinued last year but sold enough units to be ranked 31st overall. Ford has no direct replacement but launched the Puma, a slightly larger and much more expensive crossover, late last year. Due to being in the market for such a short time it sold 368 units in 2023 and did not feature in the list of top 50 sellers.

BEST SELLING CROSSOVERS/SUVS 2023

1. 1. Toyota Corolla Cross — 22,592
   2. Toyota Fortuner — 10,384
   3. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro — 9,916
   4. Haval Jolion — 8,589
   5. Nissan Magnite — 8,581
   6. Volkswagen T-Cross — 7,152
   7. Kia Sonet — 6,511
   8. Toyota Urban Cruiser — 5,992
   9. Haval H6 — 5,668
   10. Hyundai Venue — 5,156
   11. Renault Kiger — 5,127
   12. Chery Tiggo 7 Pro — 3,869
   13. BMW X3 — 3,157
   14. Ford Everest — 3,113
   15. Volkswagen Tiguan — 2,668
   16. Suzuki Grand Vitara — 2,621
   17. Renault Kiger Turbo — 2,598
   18. Toyota Land Cruiser 300 — 2,371
   19. Chery Tiggo 8 Pro — 2,325
   20. Suzuki Jimny — 2,246
   21. Kia Seltos — 2,230
   22. Volkswagen T-Roc — 2,218
   23. Suzuki Fronx — 2,048
   24. Hyundai Tucson — 1,976
   25. BMW X1 — 1,734
   26. Hyundai Creta — 1,690
   27. Volkswagen Taigo — 1,451
   28. Mahindra XUV300 — 1,434
   29. Land Rover Defender — 1,398
   30. Mazda CX-5 — 1,369
   31. Ford EcoSport — 1,364
   32. Suzuki Vitara Brezza — 1,282
   33. Toyota Prado — 1,274
   34. Toyota Rav — 1,100
   35. Isuzu MU-X — 1,099
   36. Hyundai Grand Creta — 1,098
   37. Mahindra Scorpio-N — 1,017
   38. BMW X5 — 971
   39. Kia Sportage — 928
   40. Nissan Qashqai — 880
   41. Porsche Cayenne — 848
   42. Audi Q2 — 831
   43. Mercedes-Benz GLC — 816
   44. Mazda CX-3 — 765
   45. Audi Q3 — 764
   46. Mercedes-Benz GLE — 738
   47. Mitsubishi Xpander — 721
   48. Renault Duster — 685
   49. Honda BR-V — 678
   50. Nissan X-Trail — 678

* Source: Naamsa