April's Top-Selling Cars in South Africa

Here Are The Top-Selling Cars in South Africa in April 2026

The latest Naamsa report (The Automotive Business Council) has brought some good news to South Africa’s automotive landscape.

Despite the current global affairs happening in the background, South Africa’s new car market sales were an improvement, reaching a figure of 47,979 units – the best performance April has seen since 2013. This market performed reasonably well compared to April 2025 sales, with 5,512 units sold in 2026—a 13.0% increase. This is a positive sign, given the concern across industries as external pressures continue.  

And as most industry experts know, when one thing goes up, there’ll be a slight change or decrease elsewhere. Although not a big drop, the number of South African exports didn’t appear favourable. The industry noted a 4,0% decrease (30,939 units), down from 32,229 units shipped in April 2025. 

According to Naamsa, “April 2026 marked a clear reflection point in the macroeconomic environment. The escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East triggered a sharp repricing in global energy markets, with oil prices moving structurally higher and introducing a broad-based cost shock across energy-intensive sectors.”

“For South Africa, where road transport underpins the majority of freight activity, higher fuel prices are directly transmitted into supply chain costs, distribution margins and ultimately consumer prices. In the vehicle market, these pressures feed into the total cost of ownership, placing additional strain on demand in an environment characterised by tightening credit conditions and increasingly constrained real disposable incomes,” The Automotive Business Council concluded. 

Best-Selling Cars and Automaker Sales Growth

Let’s first look at automakers who have shown strong year-on-year sales in the first quarter of 2026. Looking at these numbers helps consumers and industry alike discover something that might be reshaping the criteria we use for buying and renting cars.  

Some of the competing automakers that have made quite an impression in the first half of 2026 have been reported by Naamsa. These reports have outlined the strongest year-on-year sales growth by comparing South Africa’s new-vehicle sales figures for 2026 with those from the first quarter of 2025.

The Top 5 Automakers in Q1 2026

These figures were sourced from companies operating in the light-vehicle segments. Calculations were also based on year-on-year totals, as noted by Naamsa. 

• Jetour sales grew by a staggering 249%, from 1430 units to 4991 units. 
• Foton saw an amazing 183.7% increase in sales, from 539 units to 1529 units.  
• Omada & Jaecoo combined grew in sales by 78.5%, from 2321 units to 4143 units. 
• Honda’s sales grew by 46.2%, from 636 units to 930 units.
• GWM sales grew from 5,535 units to 7,912 units, up 42.9%.

Top 20 Top-Selling Cars in South Africa

With a little help from Top Auto, we were able to put together a list of South Africa’s best-selling vehicles for April 2026. 

• The Toyota Hilux takes first place with over 2,500 units sold. 
• Taking second place is the Ford Ranger, with 2,103 units sold. 
• The VW Polo Vivo took third place with 1,876 units sold.
• The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro sold 1,871 units, placing fourth. 
• Taking the fifth spot is the Suzuki Swift, reporting 1,556 unit sales. 
• The Hyundai Grand i10 earned sixth place with 1,374 units. 
• Haval Jolion turned heads in seventh place, closing sales at 1,277 units.
• The Toyota Corolla Cross took eighth with 1,144 units.
• Coming in ninth place, the Suzuki Fronx sold 1,113 units.
• Coming in at the top 10 is the Isuzu D-Max (with a staggering drop in sales), down from 3,000 units to 1,045 units.

These vehicles are all arranged by the number of units sold.

• Jetour T2 (1,004 Units) 
• Omoda C5 (884 Units)
• Suzuki Ertiga (874 units)
• VW Polo (817 units)
• Toyota Vitz (772 units)
• Toyota Rumion (747 units)
• Toyota Starlet (733 units)
• Toyota Urban Cruiser (711 units)
• Kia Sonet (689 units)
• Toyota Fortuner (664 units) 

What Best-Selling Car Trends Are We Seeing? 

Analysts note that there’s a massive shift in South Africa’s consumer buying behaviour. As of last year, South Africa’s motoring industry reported 596,000 passenger car sales, reflecting one of its strongest performances in almost two decades. 

Based on Marketing Agency Rogerwilco’s Automotive Report, more than 90% of new car buyers now research vehicles online, indicating that their decision-making outcome has already been established before they’ve even set foot in the dealership. 

Senior Brand Strategist at the agency, Mongezi Mtati, explains, “With 92% of car buyers completing their research online before visiting a dealership, search behaviour, social conversion, and sales data can no longer be seen in isolation.” 

Thanks to brands moving online and visibility increasing, a lot of customers are using their online research to narrow down broad searches – specifically by brand, price, specs, and models. This leaves competing brands open to stay relevant based on the “customer purchasing” experience.  

The Bottom Line 

From positive reports in the new-vehicle market to shifting trends, South Africa is seeing some changes, despite the frustrating economic swings that have trickled down to residents. However, it goes to show that resilience is key to keeping a market functioning, and the sales reflect that. 

That said, if you’re in the market for a new car, here’s the perfect time to do it: The best time to buy a new car.