For each of the past 37 years, Toyota (with small contributions from subsidiaries such as Lexus and Hino along the way) has proven to be the best-selling automaker in South Africa.
And that was no different in March 2017, with the local arm of the Japanese brand grabbing a healthy market share of some 22,8% (moving 11 055 units, including 109 from Lexus and 342 from Hino). Usually, Volkswagen takes second place.
But last month, that didn’t happen. Instead, Ford managed to snaffle the title of the second-best selling automotive brand in SA, with 6 433 units registered, representing a market share of 14,5%, despite its recent recall of the Fiesta ST adding to the Kuga fallout, and the announcement that its president and CEO had returned to the United States.
While the VW Group reported a total of 7 360 units for March, the Volkswagen brand itself (that is, excluding sales from Audi and Porsche) had to settle for third place, with our maths putting its total at 6 306 (that’s 127 units behind Ford).
This despite VW SA managing to sell 2 383 Polo Vivo units, 1 997 Polo units and 549 Golf units for the month.
Interestingly, more than half of Ford SA’s sales in March came courtesy of the Ranger bakkie (3 234), while the Everest (577) also managed an all-time monthly record.
“The Ranger remains our star performer in South Africa, and it was encouraging to see sales increasing once again,” said Neale Hill, director of marketing, sales and service at Ford Motor Company Sub-Saharan Africa Region.
“We are delighted with the growing demand for the expanded Everest range, and we expect this to continue in line with the growth of this very popular segment.”
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