HILUX sets global bakkie record
How South Africa’ s farmers moved from German‘ town’ cars to luxury bakkies.
The NAAMPO agricultural show has effectively become South Africa’ s default auto show. With farmers and agricultural industry professionals being among the most loyal and demanding buyers of bakkies and SUVs, NAAMPO is a crucial in-person marketing opportunity for legacy and emerging automotive brands.
Billed as the Southern Hemisphere’ s largest agricultural show, NAAMPO also serves as an important barometer of rural economic health. South African farmers are the capital and investment fabric that keeps rural communities economically viable.
Despite the spectre of record diesel prices weighing heavily on discussions amongst farmers and suppliers at this year’ s NAAMPO, there was also cause for celebration amongst the automotive displays. The ninth-generation version of South Africa’ s most popular vehicle, arguably the model most important to farmers, Toyota’ s Hilux, was on display, with dealerships scheduled to get their first allocations of the new bakkie by June.
With a South African bakkie legacy dating back to the late 1960s, Toyota South Africa has an intimate knowledge of how local farmers and their families have changed in vehicle needs. The Hilux was once purely a farm bakkie, with families investing in German brands for their‘ town’ car. But that’ s changed dramatically over the last two decades.
How bakkies became‘ rugged’ luxury
Double cab bakkies have added so many cabin comfort features, that German luxury vehicles are now a rarity as the secondary family vehicle on farms.
The luxury trim double cab is now the family vehicle for farmers. From journeys into town to collect kids from the hostel, and for journeys further afield to urban areas for business appointments. Even the yearly long-distance touring vacation to the coast or Namibia. Double cab bakkies can do everything farmers need, and survive the toil of operating on demanding, corrugated farm roads, which most German luxury vehicles can’ t.
To celebrate the role of the Hilux as both dependable farm bakkie and family vehicle, Toyota gathered a record number of Hilux owners and their bakkies. Considering NAAMPO’ s size and scale, traffic around the Bothaville showgrounds was severe, but Toyota’ s Hilux owners were unbothered by it.
A total of 1,545 Hilux vehicles came together in a remarkable display of brand loyalty and community spirit, officially reclaiming the record for the largest Hilux gathering ever achieved.
An interesting detail of Toyota’ s official new Hilux display at NAAMPO was the version it chose to display as the main marketing bakkie on its stage: an Xtra cab, rather than a double cab. With the VAT claim benefits, better load volume, and clever in-cab storage solutions, Xtra cab could be where Toyota South Africa envisions the real model-range value exists for farmers.
WORDS IN ACTION 6 MAY 2026