Ranger displaced as Isuzu D-Max sets new March sales record

Isuzu has emerged as the biggest surprise of the March new vehicle sales figures, both on the brand and model front.

Doing the double

In a record-breaking month for vehicle sales, the Japanese marque ranked as the fourth best-selling brand behind Suzuki, with the D-Max finishing behind the Toyota Hilux as the second-best-selling model of the month.

Whereas the former amassed sales of 4 118 units – its highest in over a year – the D-Max garnered 3 008, which sees it jump from fifth in February to second overall.

The Volkswagen Polo Vivo also experienced its highest offset in months to finish third at 2 258, followed by the Ford Ranger at 2 074.

ALSO READ: Isuzu and Mahindra sets own records in February vehicle sales

Jumping one place to fifth, the Chery Tiggo 4 pulled in 1 888 signatures to retain its standing as the country’s best-selling Chinese vehicle.

The Toyota Corolla Cross, however, was rated as the biggest month-on-month gainer by jumping six places from 12^th in February to sixth in March with total sales of 1 536 units.

Keeping its seventh place on 1 410, the Hyundai Grand i10 placed ahead of the Suzuki Swift, which dropped six places from second in February to eighth in March with a total of 1 400.

Finishing ninth on 1 262, two places higher than February, the Great Wall Motors (GWM) Haval Jolion placed ahead of the Suzuki Fronx, which stayed 10^th on 1 179.

Outside the top 10, the Mahindra XUV 3X0 kept its upwards momentum going by posting 1 063 sales to place 13^th, while the T2 remained the best-selling Jetour at 646.

Welcome, Tata and BYD

In a month there were 15 models recorded sales of more than 1 000 units; firsts included Tata and ever-growing BYD posting figures for the first time.

The Tiago ranked as the Indian brand’s best-seller with an offset of 426, with the all-electric Dolphin Surf being BYD’s top-seller at 239.

More intriguing, 94 units of the Shark were moved, while the soon-to-be-launched, controversial Kia Tasman posted 73 sales.

Best-selling brands

Out of the best-selling brands, Toyota finished first with 13 323, this time ahead of a surging Volkswagen with 5 547. Worth noting is that the figures for Wolfsburg also include those of Audi.

Dropping a notch to third is Suzuki on 5 047, followed by Isuzu on 3 513.

Placing fifth is Hyundai 3 258, followed by Ford in sixth (2 828) and GWM in seventh (2 777).

Splitting Jetour from its parent company Chery, Mahindra finished ninth on 2 280, with Chery eighth on 2 390 and Jetour tenth on 1 768.

Lower down, BYD posted an offset of 589 units and Tata directly behind it on 515.

Top 15

1. Toyota – 13 323
2. Volkswagen – 5 547
3. Suzuki – 5 047
4. Isuzu – 3 513
5. Hyundai – 3 258
6. Ford – 2 828
7. GWM – 2 777
8. Chery – 2 390
9. Mahindra – 2 280
10. Jetour – 1 768
11. Kia – 1 646
12. BMW – 1 588
13. Nissan – 1 487
14. Omoda & Jaecoo – 1 433
15. Renault – 1 407

Month in detail

For the 17^th month in a row, the figures by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) registered an increase, but it was the highest monthly since 2007.

Touching close on 60 000 units, the March figures represent a year-on-year increase of 17.3% from 49 500 in 2025 to 58 060 in 2026.

The rest of the various segments, year-on-year, were as follows:

March Top 50 best-sellers

1. Toyota Hilux – 4 118
2. Isuzu D-Max – 3 008
3. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2 258*
4. Ford Ranger – 2 074
5. Chery Tiggo 4 – 1 888#
6. Toyota Corolla Cross – 1 536
7. Hyundai Grand i10 – 1 410*
8. Suzuki Swift – 1 400
9. GWM Haval Jolion – 1 262
10. Suzuki Fronx – 1 179
11. Toyota Starlet – 1 174
12. Nissan Magnite – 1 078*
13. Mahindra XUV 3X0 – 1 063*
14. Mahindra Pik-Up – 1 037
15. Toyota Fortuner – 1 000
16. Kia Sonet – 975*
17. Toyota Vitz – 931
18. Omoda C5 – 845
19. Volkswagen Polo – 837
20. Toyota Urban Cruiser – 816
21. GWM P-Series – 785
22. Toyota Starlet Cross – 779
23. Toyota HiAce – 771
24. Jetour T2 – 646
25. Renault Kiger – 509
26. Toyota Rumion – 502
27. Hyundai i20 – 494
28. Volkswagen Amarok – 466
29. Toyota Land Cruiser Prado – 458
30. Suzuki S-Presso – 457
31. Volkswagen T-Cross – 453
32. Renault Triber – 439*
33. Hyundai Exter – 437
34. Jetour T1 – 437
35. GWM Haval H6 – 434
36. Tata Tiago – 426
37. Jetour Dashing – 414
38. Renault Kwid – 411
39. Toyota Land Cruiser 70-Series – 406
40. Volkswagen Polo Sedan – 405
41. Citroen C3 – 389
42. BMW X3 – 388
43. Nissan Navara – 380
44. Suzuki Baleno 363
45. Suzuki Ertiga 351
46. Ford Territory 342
47. Jaecoo J5 – 319
48. Ford Everest – 300
49. Volkswagen Tiguan – 293
50. Chery Tiggo 7 – 290
    Note: *: Includes commercial variants
    #: Combinations of two models

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