The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is South Africa’s top selling Chinese vehicle, and second overall in the SUV rankings.
Image: Supplied
More than half of all passenger vehicles sold in South Africa are SUVs or crossovers, and their popularity continues to grow as buyers gradually part with their trusty hatchbacks and sedans.
In 2024, SUVs accounted for almost 52% of the passenger vehicle market, up from 45.2% in 2021, the year in which these high-riders overtook hatchbacks as the most popular body type.
But what are the most popular SUV models in South Africa?
We strung together the Naamsa numbers from the first half of 2025, and some interesting trends became apparent - with Chinese and Indian-built models dominating the scene.
South Africa's top selling SUVs in the first half of 2025.
Image: Jason Woosey / IOL
Of the 20 top-selling SUVs in South Africa, six are the products of Chinese brands and nine are imported from India, under the Toyota, Suzuki, Kia, Hyundai, and Mahindra brands.
However, the Prospecton-built Toyota Corolla Cross emerged as South Africa’s most popular SUV product by a healthy margin, with a monthly average of 1,596 units in the first half of 2025. The Cross received a facelift in early 2025, and its popularity continues to grow, with an impressive volume of 2,132 units recorded in June. It is one of just two locally produced SUVs in the top 20, the other being its Fortuner sibling.
The Toyota Corolla Cross is the country's top-selling SUV.
Image: Supplied
China has two strong contenders, with the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro and Haval Jolion taking the second and fourth spots for the first half of 2025, with respective average monthly volumes of 1,216 and 1,064 units.
Suzuki’s Indian-built Fronx was the third best-selling SUV product in the first half, outselling its Toyota Starlet Cross sibling with a monthly average of 1,077 versus 865.
The Omoda C5 has gained significant traction since 2024, as has India’s Mahindra 3XO, which received a significant upgrade last year.
Interestingly, only one European-built SUV made the top 20, with the Volkswagen T-Cross taking 12th place with a monthly volume of 520.
The crux of that matter is that importers are gaining traction in South Africa.
Overall new light vehicle sales for the first six months of 2025 (all segments) are 13.6% ahead of the same period in 2024, according to Naamsa. However, while imports increased by 25.6%, with independent importers seeing a 33.4% rise, the local manufacturers saw their sales drop by 14% year to date.
Chief executives such as Toyota’s Andrew Kirby speak of a slow but steady deindustrialisation of the South African motor industry, and this is particularly evident when it comes to South Africa’s top-selling vehicle type, the SUV.
That being said, local manufacturers have come to rely on export contracts for vehicles such as the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, Volkswagen Polo, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.