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

· Citizen

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

Visit extonnews.click for more information.

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 12th 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 10th on 1 179.

Outside the top 10, the Mahindra XUV 3X0 kept its upwards momentum going by posting 1 063 sales to place 13th, 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.

BYD has finally posted sales figures for the first time, confirming 94 Shark sales in March. Picture: carscoops.com

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.

Tata has posted sales figures for the first time since its market return last year, with the Tiago being the best-seller. Picture: Tata

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 17th 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:

 Passenger VehicleLight Commercial VehicleMedium-Duty Commercial VehicleHeavy-Duty Commercial VehiclesExports202533 31613 4457222 01739 499202639 37015 5578232 31037 388Variation+18.2%+15.7%+14.0%+14.5%-5.3%

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

NOW READ: Suzuki Swift and Jetour star in record setting January vehicle sales

Read full story at source