It was however a different story in both Australia and Brazil, with the latter improving by just over 22%, while sales in the United State inched up after nose-diving significantly in December. Sales in the United Kingdom though started the year off on the back foot again, with the downturn in diesel vehicle sales and Brexit worries being cited as the biggest contributors.
As the first comparison of the year, here is how South Africa's Top 10 best sellers from January stacked-up against those from the United States, UK, Australia and Brazil.
SOUTH AFRICA
UNITS SOLD: 45 888 - (-8.9%)
| POS | MAKE | UNITS |
| 1 | Volkswagen Polo Vivo | 2 862 |
| 2 | Toyota Hilux | 2 695 |
| 3 | Ford Ranger | 2 269 |
| 4 | Toyota Corollla / Auris / Quest | 2 196 |
| 5 | Nissan NP200 | 1 586 |
| 6 | Toyota Etios | 1 519 |
| 7 | Toyota Fortuner | 1 319 |
| 8 | Isuzu KB | 1 200 |
| 9 | Toyota Quantum | 1 158 |
| 10 | Hyundai Grand i10 | 1 134 |
AUSTRALIA
UNITS SOLD: 88 551 - (+4.3%)
| POS | MAKE | UNITS |
| 1 | Toyota Hilux | 3 860 |
| 2 | Ford Ranger | 3 260 |
| 3 | Mazda3 | 3 201 |
| 4 | Toyota Corolla | 2 776 |
| 5 | Mazda CX-5 | 2 175 |
| 6 | Hyundai i30 | 1 850 |
| 7 | Toyota RAV4 | 1 780 |
| 8 | Nissan X-Trail | 1 668 |
| 9 | Mazda CX-3 | 1 582 |
| 10 | Nissan Navara | 1 578 |
BRAZIL
UNITS SOLD: 175 554 - (+22.2%)
| POS | MAKE | UNITS |
| 1 | Chevrolet Onix | 16 058 |
| 2 | Ford Ka | 7 656 |
| 3 | Hyundai HB20 | 7 436 |
| 4 | Volkswagen Polo | 6 632 |
| 5 | Chevrolet Prisma | 5 926 |
| 6 | Volkswagen Gol | 5 893 |
| 7 | Fiat Strada | 5 372 |
| 8 | Fiat Argo | 4 972 |
| 9 | Fiat Mobi | 4 679 |
| 10 | Jeep Compass | 4 546 |
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITS SOLD: 163 615 - (-6.3%)
| POS | MAKE | UNITS |
| 1 | Ford Fiesta | 8 335 |
| 2 | Volkswagen Golf | 4 310 |
| 3 | Ford Focus | 4 105 |
| 4 | Nissan Qashqai | 3 851 |
| 5 | Vauxhall Mokka X | 3 767 |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz A-class | 3 358 |
| 7 | Kia Sportage | 2 622 |
| 8 | Vauxhall Corsa | 2 587 |
| 9 | Ford Kuga | 2 580 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz C-class | 2 478 |
UNITED STATES
UNITS SOLD: 1 156 430 - (+1.0%)
| POS | MAKE | UNITS |
| 1 | Ford F-series | 58 937 |
| 2 | Chevrolet Silverado | 40 716 |
| 3 | Nissan Rogue | 36 184 |
| 4 | Ram | 29 358 |
| 5 | Toyota RAV4 | 26 655 |
| 6 | Chevrolet Equinox | 26 405 |
| 7 | Toyota Camry | 24 638 |
| 8 | Honda CR-V | 24 326 |
| 9 | Honda Civic | 23 746 |
| 10 | Toyota Corolla | 21 407 |
