The sales figures for December 2018 are in … and a whopping 976 units separate the top two vehicles as the battle for the title of South Africa’s best-selling bakkie of 2018 wraps up.

According to Naamsa, December's new vehicle industry sales came in at 39 984 units, representing a decrease of 1,9 percent, year on year. The light commercial segment, meanwhile, fell by 7,0 percent for the month (also, be sure to check out the 10 best-selling passenger vehicles and the 13 worst-selling).

So, what exactly happened in terms of bakkie sales in the final month of 2018? Well, the Toyota Hilux remained on top, with the Ford Ranger again having to settle for second place. By our maths, that leaves the Hilux a full 9 877 units ahead of the Ranger over the course of the year.

In December, the Nissan NP200 held steady in third spot, with the Isuzu D-Max – which has switched from the KB badge – remaining in fourth (its final figure comprised 593 units of the D-Max and 420 units of the KB). The Nissan NP300/Hardbody again rounded out the top half of the table, retaining fifth place.

The Volkswagen Amarok likewise held steady in sixth, while the Toyota Land Cruiser Pick-up climbed three places to seventh. The Mahindra Pik-Up remained in eighth and the Nissan Navara in ninth, while the GWM Steed was forced down three places to the final spot on the table.

That means there was no room for the Mitsubishi Triton (23), Mazda BT-50 (23), Mahindra Bolero (21) or Fiat Fullback (12) in December. Unfortunately, Mercedes-Benz South Africa doesn’t report individual model sales, so it’s hard to tell exactly how many X-Class units were sold during the month.

See the top ten list below, and have a look at November 2018’s figures here.

South Africa’s 10 best-selling bakkies of December 2018:

1. Toyota Hilux – 2 907
2. Ford Ranger – 1 931
3. Nissan NP200 – 1 572
4. Isuzu KB/D-Max – 1 013
5. Nissan NP300/Hardbody – 539
6. Volkswagen Amarok – 323
7. Toyota Land Cruiser Pick-up – 201
8. Mahindra Pik-Up – 156
9. Nissan Navara – 137
10. GWM Steed – 96

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Original article from Car