We’ve again managed to secure Naamsa’s detailed monthly sales figures, allowing us to identify South Africa’s best-selling bakkies for January 2022. Here’s everything you need to know!

South Africa’s new-vehicle market enjoyed a largely positive start to the year, a trend that was echoed in the light-commercial space where year-on-year sales grew 3.8% to 9 629 units. While this segment also includes body styles such as commercial vans, here we’ll focus exclusively on individual models in the traditional bakkie market.

So, which pick-ups did South African buyers flock to in the first month of the year? And which bakkies found themselves consigned to the very bottom of the table (or indeed unable to even crack the top 10)? Let’s take a closer look at the figures.

As you were no doubt expecting, the Toyota Hilux (2 803 units) – which earned the title of SA’s top-selling vehicle overall in 2021 before receiving yet more positive press when Nasser Al-Attiyah triumphed at the 2022 Dakar Rally in the V6-powered GR DKR Hilux T1 – was again the country’s best-selling bakkie for the month, more than doubling the efforts of its closest rival. Interestingly, some 243 units were listed as government sales, while a further 159 units were registered in the rental market.

The second-placed Isuzu D-Max (1 141 units) was the only other contender to hit four figures during the reporting period. That’s another fine performance from the ageing Isuzu bakkie considering the long-awaited new-generation version is just a couple of months away from rolling out of the Struandale facility and hitting local roads.

Remarkably, the Mahindra Pik Up – which is assembled in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal – clambered up the table from seventh to third spot, with 618 units registered during the month. That was just enough for it to force the Ford Ranger (608 units) down to what must be an uncomfortable fourth place. We can only guess the reason the Blue Oval brand’s bakkie has fallen off the pace to this extent is due to its Silverton facility gearing up for production of the new-generation model.

Meanwhile, the GWM P-Series (539 units) dropped one place to a still-impressive fifth, just ahead of the GWM Steed, which ended the month on a rather useful 461 registrations, rising three spots. With 445 units sold, the Nissan NP200 – which remains the sole half-tonne bakkie available locally – fell two places to seventh, a mere four units ahead of the Nissan Navara (441 units) produced in the same Rosslyn factory.

Despite almost doubling the number of units registered in December 2021, Toyota’s rugged Land Cruiser 79 (303 units) slipped one place to ninth in January 2022, while the Volkswagen Amarok again completed the table with 195 units. As a reminder, an all-new Amarok will be revealed later in 2022, with the second-generation version set to be based on the new Ranger and thus produced here in South Africa.

Best of the rest in January 2022

Of course, it’s just as fascinating to examine the performance of the so-called bit-part players as it is to list the sales leaders. Outside of the top 10, the Mahindra Bolero (122) proved the best of the rest in the first month of the year. In its second full month on the market, Peugeot Landtrek registrations grew ever so slightly to 41, while the Mitsubishi Triton’s total dropped a handful of units to 25. Mazda, meanwhile, managed to sell 20 examples of its new Isuzu-built BT-50, a month-on-month improvement of six units.

Export winners in January 2022

What about the export race? Well, here the Hilux dominated as well, with 5 332 examples of the Japanese bakkie shipped from our shores during January. The Ranger’s export figure more than halved month on month to 2 364 units, though that was still miles ahead of the Nissan Hardbody (456), Isuzu D-Max (272) and Nissan Navara (144). For the record, the industry’s overall export sales for January 2022 fell 9.3% year on year.

10 best-selling bakkies in South Africa for January 2022

1. Toyota Hilux – 2 803 units

2. Isuzu D-Max – 1 141 units

3. Mahindra Pik Up – 618 units

4. Ford Ranger – 608 units

5. GWM P-Series – 539 units

6. GWM Steed – 461 units

7. Nissan NP200 – 445 units

8. Nissan Navara – 441 units

9. Toyota Land Cruiser 79 – 303 units

10. Volkswagen Amarok – 195 units