Johannesburg - SUVs are in and your traditional hatchbacks and sedans are on the way out. Not all of us like that state of affairs, but that’s just the way it is.
But just how quickly are SUVs and crossovers gaining market share in South Africa? In 2021 SUVs overtook five-door hatchbacks as the most popular body type for the first time ever, and 2022 saw these high-riders gain even more market share.
According to data released by Hyundai, SUVs and crossovers accounted for 50.9% of the passenger car market last year, up from 45.2% the previous year. The overall SUV volume grew from 121 221 units to 159 294, out-shadowing five-door hatchbacks (109 061), whose share of the passenger car pie dropped from 38% to 34.8%.
The top-selling SUV in Mzansi last year was the Toyota Urban Cruiser. With a volume of 16 992 units, it followed the Volkswagen Polo Vivo and Suzuki Swift to become the nation’s third-best selling passenger vehicle. It remains to be seen whether its imminent successor will emulate this success, given that it’s bigger and will presumably be more expensive.
The Toyota Corolla Cross followed closely as SA’s second best-selling SUV in 2022 with its volume of 15 855 units. It was followed by the Volkswagen T-Cross (10 384), Haval Jolion (9 071), Renault Kiger (8 532) and Toyota Fortuner (7 805).
But how did the other body styles fare?
The next most popular body style, after SUVs and five-door hatches, were MPVs, with a volume of 24 308 and a share of 7.8%, marginally down from last year’s 9.2%.
Next up were sedans (17 244) with a 5.5% share of the passenger car market - how the mighty have fallen - and all the body styles below that achieved very minor volumes.
The once-popular three-door hatchback, for instance, saw a volume of just 1 004 units (for a 0.3% share) and these were even outsold by coupés, at 1 858 units and 0.6%. Cabriolets hardly featured either, at 411 units, while estate cars saw a volume of just 28 units.
The total number of vehicles sold in South Africa in 2022, including trucks and buses, was 528 963 units, with passenger cars accounting for 363 696 of those sales, while light commercial vehicles, including bakkies, found 135 713 homes.