Johannesburg – While the majority of new cars in South Africa are sold to private buyers, a significant portion also goes to the rental industry as well as corporates and, of course, our government.
Government sales make up the smallest portion, but it’s still a significant number, with an estimated 11 500 vehicles being bought by the state in 2022, which represents 2.1 percent of the total sales pie.
But what kind of cars are our government buying at the moment? We analysed the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) sales numbers from the whole of 2022 and added them up until we had a list of the cars bought most often by the powers that be.
Unfortunately, Mercedes did not submit any data on government sales during 2022, while BMW only reported those numbers in three of the months, which at least gave us a taste of what luxury cars are being snapped up by the state.
The best-selling vehicle to government overall in 2022 is perhaps not something you might have expected, with the Isuzu D-Max taking the honours with 1 784 sales to government, which is a monthly average of just under 150 units. The Isuzu narrowly beat the Toyota Hilux, which managed 1 731 government sales. Had Toyota not been hindered by its factory flood last year, it could very well have led the race.
The top passenger car was the Volkswagen Polo Sedan, at 1 129 units, followed by the Volkswagen Polo Vivo (683) and the Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up (571). Below is a list of the 30 top-sellers.
Government Vehicle Sales: 2022
- 1. Isuzu D-Max - 1 784
- 2. Toyota Hilux - 1 731
- 3. Volkswagen Polo Sedan - 1 129
- 4. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 683
- 5. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 571
- 6. Ford Ranger - 429
- 7. Renault Kwid - 368
- 8. Nissan Navara - 314
- 9. Nissan Almera - 288
- 10. Suzuki Dzire - 225
- 11. Toyota Quantum - 222
- 12. Toyota Urban Cruiser - 219
- 13. Suzuki Vitara Brezza - 204
- 14. Toyota Starlet - 187
- 15. Toyota Hiace - 176
- 16. Nissan NP200 - 164
- 17. Toyota Corolla Quest - 150
- 18. Suzuki Swift - 118
- 19. Suzuki Ertiga - 103
- 20. Honda Ballade - 99
- 21. Volkswagen Amarok - 94
- 22. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 78
- 23. BMW 3 Series - 75
- 24. Volkswagen Transporter - 74
- 25. Toyota Fortuner - 67
- 26. Volkswagen Golf GTI - 65
- 27. Volkswagen Polo - 65
- 28. Audi A4 - 58
- 29. Suzuki Ciaz - 58
- 30. Mahindra Scorpio - 44
Toyota sold the most vehicles overall, with a total figure of 3 066, while Volkswagen trailed closely behind at 2 459.
In most cases, the government bought cars from companies that assemble in South Africa, which makes sense given how important our manufacturing industry is to the local economy. Haval, Chery, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Stellantis and Volvo, for instance, reported no sales to the state last year. Suzuki was the only full importer that managed substantial volumes in 2022.
What luxury cars is government buying?
On the premium vehicle front, the BMW 3 Series emerged as government’s car of choice in 2022, but keep in mind that its sales figure of 75 units is the total of just three months. If we assume that those numbers are an indication of how it sold for the rest of the year, then the total sales for 2022 would likely have come in around the 300 mark, which would have put it in the top 10 overall.
The Audi A4 followed in second place with 58 sales, but it would likely have been beaten by the BMW X5 (32 units) had the full year’s data been available.
Best of the rest was the Audi Q5, at 21 units, BMW X3 (10) and BMW 1 Series (8). And there were some curious choices at the bottom of the sales charts, with the BMW iX electric SUV managing four government sales last year, all of which took place in December.
The Jaguar F-Pace, Land Rover Defender and Range Rover Velar each recorded just one sale each in the whole of 2022, as did the Lexus UX, RX and ES.
With Toyota being fully back on stream, it will be interesting to see how the sales race emerges in 2023.
Click here to see South Africa’s 10 best-selling cars and SUVs in 2022.