South Africa is bakkie country - but could these five new players disrupt the status quo?
There aren’t many countries that rival South Africa when it comes to enthusiasm for the humble, or once humble, bakkie.
Even our Afrikaans-derived name for them (which means small bowl or container in English) is unique to us. In most parts of the world they’re called pick-up trucks, which is really boring, while Australians also buck the trend by using the word ‘ute’, short for utility.
South Africa is technically the world’s eighth biggest market for ‘pick-ups’ by volume, according to Cars.co.za, and bakkies and other light commercial vehicles collectively account for 27% of the local vehicle market according to Naamsa’s highly informative numbers.
South Africa even inaugurated its own ‘Bakkie Festival’ at Sondela Nature Reserve in early November, complete with gravel drag racing, a hill climb, obstacle courses along with exhibitions and other fun activities.
Given the lack of smaller and larger bakkie options, one-tonne bakkies rule the roost in Mzansi.
While North Americans obsess over their giant ‘trucks’ like the Ford F-150, and much of South America favours smaller bakkies like the Volkswagen Saveiro, South Africa stands alongside Australia and Thailand as being a major market for one-tonners like the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger.
It seems there’s no loosening the stranglehold that the Toyota Hilux has on the South African market. It’s been the country’s top selling bakkie for over four decades, although in recent years the Ford Ranger has run it close.
In fact, when it comes to double cab sales, the Ranger actually outsells the Hilux, with 14,847 sales up to the end of the third quarter of 2024, versus 11,367 Hilux double cabs, according to Lightstone, via Cars.co.za.
Isuzu’s D-Max typically occupies third place in the South Africa bakkie sales race, while the Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up is currently fourth, having made some impressive gains in recent years.
Although it’s unlikely that any contender will knock the Toyota Hilux off its top spot any time soon, particularly given how well the current version is selling so late in its life cycle, there are a number of interesting new double cab bakkies that could cause at least some disruption to the bakkie status quo in the next two years.
Chery KP11 Double Cab
Chery has certainly caused a scene on South Africa’s SUV sales charts and the Chinese auto giant will no doubt be hoping to do the same on the bakkie scene from 2026. But they may be missing one vital ingredient.
The Chery KP11 concept was revealed to media at Chery’s annual User Summit in Wuhu last month, and it’s set to spawn a global pick-up that will directly rival the likes of Hilux and Ranger.
Chery is aiming to introduce the new one-tonner to South Africa by early 2026, and while powertrain details have yet to be officially confirmed it doesn’t seem as if Chery will offer a diesel at this stage, which could certainly hamper its popularity in our market. Unless Chery does in fact pull a diesel out the hat between now and launch. International media report that the Chery bakkie will be offered with 2.4-litre turbopetrol and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants.
Should it come in at the right price, however, and South Africans continue to warm to hybrids, the new Chery may just surprise us.
Kia Tasman
Another contender that could either get it very right or very wrong on our market is the new Kia Tasman.
The Korean carmaker’s first true Hilux rival is expected to arrive on local shores in 2025, complete with a highly polarising exterior design that seems to shout military truck rather than leisure double cab. Bold, and certainly different, it seems to have drawn as many admirers as it has detractors.
ALSO READ: Has Kia taken things too far with the Tasman bakkie
Thankfully this one is available with diesel power, with a version of Kia’s 2.2-litre turbo unit tuned to 154kW and 441Nm, and there’s a 2.5 turbopetrol worth 206kW and 421Nm.
In stark contrast to the exterior, the Tasman has a high-tech dual-screen cabin that would not look out of place in a high-end SUV.
But will the Kia Tasman really prove a threat to the local bakkie establishment? Only time will tell.
BYD Shark
Build Your Dreams (BYD) is a Chinese automaker that recently overtook Tesla to become the world’s number one producer of electric vehicles (EVs).
The BYD Shark is not strictly an EV, but a plug-in hybrid and it is expected to launch in South Africa during 2025.
Although its mass appeal could be limited by the lack of a diesel option, this BYD could become something of a Ford Raptor predator, sporting a hybrid drivetrain that combines a 1.5-litre turbopetrol engine and a powerful rear-axle-mounted e-motor to produce system outputs of 320kW and 610Nm.
What’s more, its 29.6 kWh battery allows the hybrid bakkie to cover up to 100km on electric power alone, according to BYD.
This Raptor hunter can also sprint from 0-100km/h in just 5.7 seconds, outrunning many performance hatchbacks in the process.
A lot will hinge on how BYD prices the Shark, but if its Dolphin and Atto3 electric vehicles are anything to go by, it could be quite aggressively positioned.
Mitsubishi Triton
The Triton and its three-diamond logo are nothing new to South Africans, but the new-generation model is perhaps its best chance ever of devouring a bigger slice of the one-tonne sales pie.
Whereas previous Tritons had somewhat off exterior lines, the version boasts a more aggressive, truck-like and dare we say American appearance that could strike a chord with local buyers. Its a styling strategy that certainly worked for the Ford Ranger.
The new Triton launches locally later in November, with pricing and specifications to be confirmed then. But more than just a bold new look awaits customers as it ushers in a newly developed 2.4-litre turbodiesel engine, with output levels of 110kW, 135kW and 150kW.
It’s also built around a new ladder-frame chassis that’s said to have improved torsional rigidity by 40% and bending rigidity by 60%. The range-topping 4x4 version has various selectable driving modes, including Rock, Gravel, Mud and Sand.
Owners can also look forward to an improved range of driver assistance systems, including Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Mitigation, Blind Spot Warning with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid
This one we’re adding to the list with a word of caution, as the Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid has yet to be confirmed for the South African market.
However, the pioneering PHEV bakkie is being built right here for export markets and it will no doubt future-proof the Silverton plant to some degree as major markets such as Europe move towards electrification.
But given that it’s locally produced, we would like to think that Ford SA would offer it to local customers at some point in the future, and compared with the diesel offerings that dominate our bakkie space, the PHEV certainly offers something unique.
Its 11.8 kWh battery allows for a claimed range of up to 45km on electric power alone, which should cover most commutes.
But it’s also enticingly powerful, with a 2.3-litre turbopetrol engine pairing up with an electric motor to produce system outputs of 205kW and 690Nm. That’s more torque than the Raptor even offers!
The battery also powers Ford’s Pro Power Onboard system, which can power high-draw tools and equipment simultaneously on a jobsite or campside with up to 3.45kW via two 15 amp outlets in the loadbox.
For Now, South Africa’s one-tonne bakkie market is diesel dominated, and will likely remain so for a long time to come, but as the world moves towards electrification, hybrid bakkies are likely to become a more common sight on our roads.
Following the departure of half-tonners like the Nissan NP200, Chevrolet Utility and Ford Bantam, there has also been a calling for smaller bakkies on our market. Unfortunately there are no concrete plans for such models at present, with Renault unable to get the pricing to work for its Duster-based Oroch, and Volkswagen has yet to commit to bringing the long-anticipated Saveiro replacement to South Africa, although it is said to be under consideration for a much later date.
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