Johannesburg - You may not have known it, but the Ford Figo 1.4 Ambiente is South Africa’s favourite car derivative.
The monthly new-vehicle sales reports released by Naamsa (National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA) list the country’s best-selling vehicles by model range, but detailed stats on the most popular model derivatives only become available after some delay.
For instance, the monthly reports tell you that the VW Polo Vivo is the most popular range, but not whether it’s the 1.4-litre hatchback version or the 1.6-litre sedan, for instance, that’s the top seller within the line up.
The monthly figures also don’t list high-volume brands such as Hyundai and Kia, which only reveal their detailed sales figures a few months in arrears.
The complete 2013 figures have recently become available and we’ve listed the year’s top-30 selling cars below along with the top-20 bakkies.
NOW WE KNOW
They show that the Figo 1.4 Ambiente five-door was the country’s best-selling car, with 12 373 units finding new owners. Filling up the next three places were Volkswagen Polo Vivos and new-generation Polos. Toyota Etios models fill the next two slots, while three Hyundai models also made the top 10, led by the i10 1.1 Motion in seventh position.
The list paints an interesting picture as cars that sometimes don’t rank high in the model-range sales charts - for example the Nissan Micra - have very strong-sellers when it comes to a particular derivative (in this case the Micra 1.2 Visia+).
On the bakkie side the Toyota Hilux has for long reigned supreme as the best-selling range, partly because it has so many derivatives, but its most popular model, the 2.0 VVT-i, only occupies sixth place in the model chart. In 2013 the country’s best selling bakkie was the Chevrolet Ute 1.4 aircon with 5753 sales, ahead of Nissan’s NP200 1.6.
Between them the Ute and the NP200 fill the top five bakkie slots.
SA’s Top 30-selling CAR derivatives - 2013
1 Ford Figo 1.4 Ambiente - 12 373
2 VW Polo Vivo hatch 1.4 base - 11 937
3 VW Polo 1.4 hatch Comfortline - 8 716
4 VW Polo Vivo 1.4 Trendline - 7 991
5 Toyota Etios hatch 1.5 Xi - 5 599
6 Toyota Etios sedan 1.5 Xs - 5 438
7 Hyundai i10 1.1 Motion - 5 268
8 BMW 3-Series 320i auto - 5 261
9 Hyundai i20 1.2 Motion - 5 072
10 Hyundai i20 1.4 Fluid - 4 889
11 Mercdedes C200 BlueEfficiency - 4 445
12 Toyota Etios hatch 1.5 Xs - 4 390
13 Nissan Micra Micra 1.2 Visia+ - 4 175
14 Toyota Etios hatch 1.5 Xs - 4 160
15 VW Polo 1.6 hatch Comfortline - 3775
16 Mercedes C180 BlueEfficiency - 3769
17 Toyota Corolla 1.3 Professional - 3540
18 VW Polo 1.4 hatch Trendline - 3306
19 Toyota Corolla 1.3 Impact - 3101
20 Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ambiente - 3063
21 Tata B-Line 1.4 LE - 2935
22 Hyundai i10 1.2 Fluid - 2911
23 VW Polo Vivo sedan 1.4 Trendline - 2529
24 Kia Picanto 1.2 EX - 2517
25 Kia Rio 1.4 TEC - 2473
26 Chevrolet Spark 1.2 - 2455
27 BMW 320d - 2414
28 Hyundai i20 1.4 Glide - 2329
29 VW Golf 1.4 TSI Comfortline - 2286
30 Toyota Etios SD 1.5 Xs - 2284
SA’s Top 30-selling BAKKIE derivatives - 2013
1 Chevrolet Utility 1.4 aircon - 5753
2 Nissan NP200 1.6 - 5463
3 Chevrolet Utility 1.4 - 5000
4 Nissan NP200 1.6 aircon - 4247
5 Nissan NP200 1.6 Safety - 3965
6 Toyota Hilux 2.0 VVT-i - 3579
7 Toyota Hilux 2.5 D-4D RB SRX - 3372
8 Toyota Hilux 2.5 D-4D - 3063
9 Chevrolet Utility 1.4 Club - 3006
10 Hyundai H100 Bakkie 2.6D Deck - 2419
11 Kia K2700 Workhorse - 2283
12 Toyota Hilux 3.0 D-4D RB Raider D-Cab - 2260
13 Toyota Hilux 2.5 D-4D 4x4 SRX D-Cab - 2071
14 Ford Ranger 2.2TD Hi-Power XL D-Cab - 2006
15 Toyota Hilux 3.0 D-4D Raider 4x4 D-Cab - 1972
16 Nissaan NP300 Hardbody 2.0 LWB - 1966
17 Toyota Hilux 2.5 D-4D 4x4 SRX - 1761
18 VW Amarok 2.0 BiTDI D-Cab 4Motion Highline - 1548
19 Ford Ranger Super Cab 2.2TD Hi-Power XL Hi-Rider 4x2
- 1483
20 Ford Ranger 2.2TD MP Base Lo-Rider - 1443
- Source: RGT Smart