Despite all the recessionary cautions, South Africa's new vehicle sales surge continues unabated, with May 2012 seeing a 20.7 percent increase over the same month last year to reach a total of 50 228 units.
Also worth noting is that May 2012 saw the highest daily selling rate achieved since June 2007.
The latest batch of figures release by Naamsa show that the growth was evenly apportioned between passenger cars (20.8 percent) and light commercial vehicles (21.5 percent).
Naamsa stated that factors such as historically low interest rates and the improved financial position of consumers would continue to support South African market, but it does caution that the lower exchange rate would soon have an adverse effect on new vehicle prices.
We've compiled a list of the top 50 sellers of May, but unfortunately it's not the full picture as brands like Hyundai, Kia and Mercedes-Benz are not submitting figures at present, although the latter's sales are reflected in the overall sales figure of 50 228 units.
TOP 50 SELLERS - MAY 2012
1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 2789
2. Toyota Hilux - 2613
3. Volkswagen Polo - 2343
4. Chevrolet Utility - 1898
5. Nissan NP200 - 1852
6. Ford Ranger - 1593
7. Toyota Etios - 1315
8. Isuzu KB - 1128
9. Ford Figo - 1107
10. Toyota Quantum - 1102
11. Toyota Fortuner - 1021
12. BMW 3 Series - 859
13. Toyota Corolla/Auris - 815
14. Volkswagen Golf - 624
15. Toyota Yaris - 618
16. Ford Fiesta - 598
17. Nissan NP300 - 553
18. BMW 1 Series - 542
19. Renault Sandero - 518
20. Chevrolet Aveo - 512
21. Chevrolet Spark - 495
22. Chevrolet Cruze - 468
23. Volkswagen Jetta - 457
24. Nissan Micra - 418
25. Audi A4 - 365
26. Toyota Avanza - 353
27. Ford Focus - 301
28. Nissan Juke - 298
28. Volkswagen Tiguan - 298
30. Chevrolet Sonic - 296
31. Volkswagen Amarok - 249
32. Nissan Qashqai - 242
33. Mini range - 236
34. BMW 5 Series - 225
35. Chevrolet Captiva - 220
36. Land Rover Discovery - 217
36. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 217
38. Audi Q3 - 213
39. Audi A3 - 197
40. Honda Jazz - 194
41. BMW X3 - 184
42. Volkswagen Caddy - 183
43. Honda Civic - 168
44. Fiat Punto - 166
45. Toyota Aygo - 165
46. BMW X1 - 164
47. Range Rover Evoque - 160
48. Audi Q5 - 159
49. Dodge Caliber - 157
50. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 155