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With 2644 of them finding homes, the Volkswagen Polo crept closer to its Vivo sibling in the passenger car sales race.
South Africa's new vehicle sales picture is still on the rosy side but January 2012's figures, just released by NAAMSA, show that the momentum is slowing.
Last month saw total industry sales of 48 251 vehicles, up 7.0 percent on January last year. 35 428 of these were passenger cars.
It was still the best January sales performance in five years, however, largely fuelled by strong rental car demand.
The aforementioned figures include Mercedes-Benz's overall numbers, although (due to parent company politics that may be resolved soon) that company's individual model sales cannot be disclosed for the time being.
Excluding MB sales, 79 percent of January's new vehicles were sold through dealer channels while 12.8 percent were sales to rental companies, 4.7 percent to government and 3.4 percent to corporate fleets.
Export sales for the month amounted to 10 445 units (excl. MB), a 2.6 percent improvement over January 2011's numbers (incl. MB).
Looking at the numbers below, there were a few surprises as the 'new' Volkswagen Polo came close to its older Polo Vivo sibling in the passenger car sales race.
Toyota's new Yaris also crept into the top five, just behind the increasingly popular Ford Figo, while the Nissan Juke made its way into the top 10 with 602 units - surprising for a niche vehicle of this kind.
TOP 30 PASSENGER VEHICLES:
1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 2964
2. Volkswagen Polo - 2644
3. Toyota Corolla/Auris - 1598
4. Ford Figo - 1337
5. Toyota Yaris - 882
6. Volkswagen Golf - 659
7. Chevrolet Aveo - 657
8. Chevrolet Cruze - 606
9. Nissan Juke - 602
10. BMW 3 Series - 590
11. Toyota Fortuner - 589
12. Nissan Micra - 580
13. Audi A4 - 567
14. BMW 1 Series - 520
15. Ford Fiesta - 500
16. Renault Sandero - 481
17. Chevrolet Spark - 438
18. Chevrolet Sonic - 431
19. Volkswagen Jetta - 414
20. Audi A3 - 391
21. Honda Jazz - 335
22. Volkswagen Tiguan - 293
23. Nissan Qashqai - 276
24. Chevrolet Captiva - 272
25. Land Rover Discovery - 242
26. Ford Focus - 234
27. Range Rover Evoque - 233
28. Toyota Aygo - 226
29. Mini range - 225
30. BMW 5 Series - 217
TOP 20 LIGHT COMMERCIALS:
1. Toyota Hilux - 2774
2. Nissan NP200 - 1506
3. Chevrolet Utility - 1205
4. Toyota Quantum - 927
5. Isuzu KB - 800
6. Nissan NP300 - 596
7. Ford Bantam - 581
8. Volkswagen Amarok - 502
9. Mazda BT-50 - 243
10. Ford Ranger - 228
11. Nissan Navara - 198
12. Toyota Land Cruiser P/U - 190
13. Volkswagen Caddy - 120
14. Mahindra Scorpio P/U - 84
15. Mitsubishi Triton - 77
16. Volkswagen T5 C-Bus - 69
17. Land Rover Defender - 66
17. Tata Xenon - 66
19. Opel Combo - 53
20. Mahindra Bolero - 49
-Source: NAAMSA
INDUSTRY FIGURES SAID:
“While still early in the year current circumstances and expectations seem to suggest slow growth in the new passenger car market during 2012, with growth rates probably remaining in single digits.” -Mike Glendinning, VWSA sales and marketing director
“Market growth this year is not going to be seen in big numbers as was the case in 2011, purely because the market had already returned to a strong position last year,” said Stoneley. “It means that even small growth this year is indicative of a strong new vehicle market.” -Dean Stoneley, Ford SA marketing and sales VP
“As ever one has to view the January numbers with a degree of caution with some carry over in new registrations from December and varied close-off dates for December reporting. A more realistic perspective is typically gained with the February sales returns.” -Malcolm Gauld, GMSA sales and marketing VP
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Alf, wrote
It is sad that even though as South Africans we moan and whinge at every opportunity, we still continue to buy Toyota and VW cars in spite of the fact that they no longer provide value for money, their service and customer care is below par (check the latest Car magazine). I wanted to buy a VW and this saleslady wants to insist on a certain rate (from another bank) even when my bank is prepared to give me a better rate. How stupid can you get! But like i say, they continue to screw us because we are prepared to bend over and let them have their way with us.
Top Geariac, wrote
Anon, wrote
I find it hard to believe that GWM (Great Wall Motors) didn't feature in any of the results.
The M, wrote
For those who dont know, Hyundai and Kia dont submit their sales numbers to NAAMSA, not sure what the real reason is. Mercedes Benz SA recently announced that they're going to stop submitting their data to NAAMSA for now, cant remember the reason they gave...
Wolfgang, wrote
Read the article and you'll see " while 12.8 percent were sales to rental companies." Hyundai, Kia and some other makes do not release official sales figures and are therefore never shown on these totals. I would like to see them on the list too.
Whoo-ha, wrote
These figures are more skewedwarped as a big percentage of these cars are gobbled up by the rental car companies i.e. Avis, Budget, Hertz etc... Take those out of the equation and then see who is the real best sellers... by including those brands that does not provide figures
Anonymous, wrote
How many of the cars were bought by Avis etc. Tell us the real figures of SA buyers without fleet sales. Because every time I get a rental it is one of these crap cars
The Gecko, wrote
I can't believe that the Corolla is still so high on the list. I can't figure out why anyone would buy it - its not well priced, its not well spec'ed, it doesn't have spectacular power or handling, it's safety features are average at best, its not spectacularly spacious or comfortable, its not good-looking and its not even as reliable as Toyota's used to be anymore. In short, its mediocre in every way... Why would anyone buy it?
Jason, wrote
Astounds me that people still buys VWs. They are overpriced even before you have to add the radio, aircon and service plan. Plus quality is nothing to write home about.
Eazy, wrote
approximately 6 000 VW Polo found new home in January, this is the car that best serve the SA market for many reasons
Anonymous, wrote
Jason Woosey, wrote
As it says in the story above, Mercedes did not release figures for its individual models, but this is a temporary situation. Kia and Hyundai do not report figures at all. None of this affects the accuracy of the sales figures above, although the rankings would change if the MercKiaHyundai figures were included.
Anonymous, wrote
Goobacks, wrote
Anonymous, wrote
JR, wrote
How accurate are these figures as there are no Mercedes on the list and jsudging by the large number of them on teh road, they should be at least one model on the list.
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