The latest vehicle sales figures from Naamsa show that the industry continues to grow, with overall sales having increased by 9.4 percent to 56 253, up from August 2011's 51 409.
If we look at the year so far, sales for the first eight months of this year stand at 11.3 percent ahead of the same period last year.
Of August 2012's figures, 81 percent were comprised of dealer sales while 11.5 percent of the pie was gobbled by the rental industry, 3.9 percent by corporate fleets and 3.5 percent by the government.
“Despite prospects of a lower economic growth environment, the automotive sector continued to perform remarkably well,” Naamsa said.
Historically low interest rates would continue to support domestic sales, as well as improving demand for credit by households and businesses.
However, Naamsa cautions that the industry could experience tougher times from next year:
“Looking ahead to 2013, increasing inflationary pressures on the back of expected higher fuel and food prices and the impact of rand weakness on new vehicle pricing were likely to result in a more difficult trading environment and more subdued growth in vehicle sales,” Naamsa said.
Looking at the August sales chart, which excludes non-reporters like Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Kia, the usual Polo and Hilux suspects dominated the podium while further down the scale, small cars like the Toyota Yaris, Chevrolet Spark and Nissan Micra made some solid progress.
TOP 50 SELLERS - AUGUST 2012
1. VW Polo Vivo - 3714
2. Toyota Hilux - 2942
3. VW Polo - 2355
4. Toyota Corolla/Auris - 1911
5. Nissan NP200 - 1652
6. Toyota Etios - 1563
7. Chevrolet Utility - 1555
8. Toyota Quantum - 1355
9. Ford Ranger - 1238
10. BMW 3 Series - 1200
11. Isuzu KB - 1192
12. Toyota Yaris - 1096
13. Toyota Fortuner - 961
14. Ford Figo - 877
15. Chevrolet Spark - 822
16. Nissan Micra - 773
17. Nissan NP300 - 759
18. Chevrolet Sonic - 730
19. Renault Sandero - 682
20. VW Golf - 618
21. Ford Fiesta - 571
22. Chevrolet Aveo - 549
23. Chevrolet Cruze - 518
24. VW Amarok - 515
25. Toyota Aygo - 472
26. Honda Jazz - 438
27. BMW 1 Series - 433
28. Audi A4 - 397
29. Ford Focus - 367
30. Toyota Avanza - 365
31. VW Jetta - 320
32. Nissan Juke - 297
33. VW Tiguan - 276
34. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 270
35. Audi A1 - 266
36. Nissan Qashqai - 255
37. Jeep Compass - 254
38. Land Rover Discovery - 236
39. Mini range - 215
40. Toyota 86 - 211
41. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 198
41. Audi Q5 - 198
43. Jeep Wrangler - 197
44. Nissan Livina - 196
45. Audi A3 - 187
46. Honda Civic - 184
47. Porsche Cayenne - 183
48. BMW X3 - 180
48. Mitsubishi ASX - 180
48. Mazda BT-50 - 180
Sources: Naamsa & Sapa