SA bakkie wars: Toyota Hilux tops March sales, with Ford slipping below Isuzu

South Africans are known for their loyalty to bakkie brands, and the Toyota bakkie has become a staple of South African life.

The sales stats for March demonstrate that the Toyota Hilux remains the country's best-selling vehicle in the new car market, reports News24 Motoring Editor Janine van der Post.

However, she notes, once you look past the fact that no-one can seem to beat Hilux's monthly sales numbers, Isuzu and Ford running second and third lend themselves to an exciting race.

Isuzu' D-Max overtook Ranger for the second spot in March, with 2 095 units sold, compared to 1 954 from Ford.

Although the difference is only around 100 units, van der Post wonders if this is another indication of our economic crisis with even bakkie buyers downscaling by opting for more affordable models while retaining more lifestyle features.

While Ford's Ranger dropped to third best-selling pick-up truck, it still exported the most vehicles in March from its usual second-place spot.

There is really nothing that can take away from the brand loyalty that Toyota has in South Africa, van der Post tells John Maytham.

"You could bring out the best bakkie you could possibly build, and South Africans will still pick the Toyota Hilux hands down."

Janine van der Post, Editor - News24 Motoring

At the same time, we also need to remember that the competition brands are bringing out new-generation vehicles, while Toyota hasn't delivered the next-generation Hilux in a long time.

"They're launching new models... but it's still the old generation, and I think people are still waiting for that next-generation Hilux to come and beat the Ranger hands down, because the Ranger's driving quality is absolutely superb."

Janine van der Post, Editor - News24 Motoring