SA's top selling vehicles in seven key segments: Oct

Johannesburg - South Africa’s new vehicle market surged ahead for the fifth consecutive month in October, with an overall gain of 4.6 percent over October last year.

The month saw a total of 51 037 vehicles finding homes, and among these passenger vehicles registered an improvement of 7.9 percent year-on-year to 35 316 units.

Light commercials (13 376) actually registered a modest decline of 1.7 percent over October last year, however, as did the medium and heavy truck and bus segments, down 3.2 percent and 5.1 percent respectively.

The latter is a worrying sign economically, and although the relatively buoyant passenger vehicle sales might seem like a cause for celebration, it’s likely that there are cyclical factors at play here. TransUnion recently commented that a dwindling supply of used vehicles as a consequence of lower new vehicle sales over the past few years is pushing up the price of used vehicles, while new vehicle inflation is slowing for various reasons, luring more buyers into the new car section of the showroom.

However the weakening of the rand following last month’s Medium Term Budget Policy Statement has yet to be reflected in car prices, and this could certainly throw a spanner in the works in the coming months, should the currency not bounce back. The higher fuel prices caused by this, and rising international oil prices, will put further pressure on consumers going into 2018.

South Africa’s vehicle export sales took a knock in October, falling 8.3 percent to 28 229 vehicles, but Naamsa attributes this in part to the recent Durban storms, which affected operations in the country's biggest port. Volkswagen’s changeover to the new-generation Polo could also adversely affect exports in the coming months.

Movers and shakers

After many months of losing out to the Toyota Hilux, Ford’s Ranger climbed to the top of the sales charts in October, with 2855 sales, versus its Japanese rival’s 2483. Although still lagging somewhat, Isuzu’s KB has gained some momentum in recent months, rising to around 1400 units a month from a previous average in the region of 1000, which is a good sign for the local Isuzu operation following GM’s divestment.

On the passenger car front, Volkswagen’s locally-assembled hatchbacks continue to sell up a storm ahead of their imminent model changeover, with the Polo Vivo narrowly losing out to the Ford Ranger in the overall sales race, with 2851 sales in October, while the Polo range saw a volume of 1950.

Also in the compact hatch sector, Kia had a strong month with 1020 Picantos and 843 Rios finding homes, while Toyota managed to move 2059 Etios hatches and sedans, more than double the previous month.

Below we’ve listed the top performers in seven key segments, although please note that we have avoided the premium segments due to the fact that Mercedes-Benz and BMW currently do not report individual sales figures.

Budget Hatch/Sedan

Volkswagen Polo Vivo2851Toyota Etios2059Kia Picanto1020Datsun Go528Renault Kwid511Ford Figo473Renault Sandero442Hyundai i10367Hyundai Grand i10366Nissan Micra324Suzuki Swift314Datsun Go+200

Compact Hatch/Sedan

Volkswagen Polo1950Ford Fiesta855Kia Rio843Renault Clio696Toyota Avanza659Hyundai i20640Nissan Almera431Hyundai Accent346Mazda2214Suzuki Baleno98Honda Ballade96Toyota Yaris88

Compact/Medium Hatch/Sedan

Toyota Corolla/Quest/Auris2135Volkswagen Golf676Ford Focus298Audi A3265Mazda3262Volkswagen Jetta138Hyundai Elantra135Renault Megane74Opel Astra36Kia Cerato25Subaru Impreza25Volvo V4024

Compact Crossover/SUV

Ford EcoSport1047Hyundai Creta395Mazda CX-3294Renault Captur229Suzuki Ignis129Honda BR-V95Suzuki Jimny88Opel Mokka X83Mitsubishi ASX53Mahindra KUV10052Jeep Renegade41Suzuki Vitara40

Compact/Medium Crossover/SUV

Toyota Rav4916Hyundai Tucson522Nissan X-Trail396Volkswagen Tiguan336Mazda CX-5283Nissan Qashqai283Toyota C-HR170Kia Sportage161Audi Q5134Renault Duster127Honda HR-V105Honda CR-V93

Large Crossover/SUV (Sub-R1-million)

Toyota Fortuner 1337Ford Everest 594Toyota Land Cruiser 200 119Toyota Prado 59Jeep Grand Cherokee 46Mahindra XUV 44Chevrolet Trailblazer 33Jeep Wrangler 27Mahindra Scorpio27Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 27

Bakkies (all)

Ford Ranger 2855Toyota Hilux 2483Isuzu KB 1399Nissan NP200 1348Nissan NP300 Hardbody 957Chevrolet Utility 346Hyundai H100 Bakkie337Volkswagen Amarok 256Toyota Land Cruiser PU218Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up169Nissan Navara 144Kia K2700 93