The monthly Naamsa stats generally make for rather interesting reading. But, naturally, we tend to focus on the best-performing vehicles in terms of sales.
Indeed, we’ve already reported the 10 best-selling passenger cars of August 2016, as well as listing the 10 best-selling bakkies in our market for the same period.
But now we’ve decided to take a look at the worst-selling passenger car models on our shores. Of course, we must bear in mind that certain importers – such as Hyundai and Kia – do not submit individual model sales figures, instead only disclosing aggregate sales stats. Mercedes-Benz, too, has taken a similar stance in recent times.
Also, take note that – in order to make this list more relevant – we’ve excluded vehicles ranges that start at more than R500 000. Otherwise, this table would be dominated by luxury manufacturers such as Bentley, Ferrari and Maserati, whose high-priced vehicles traditionally sell in tiny numbers.
So, what happened in August 2016? Well, as many as 12 vehicle ranges each sold just a single unit. It must be pointed out, however, that the Alfa Romeo MiTo, Jeep Compass and Suzuki Splash have all been discontinued here in South Africa, with these sales effectively coming from run-out stock. The Citroën C4 Aircross, too, has long been discontinued, while the French brand has also effectively dropped its commercial vehicle range (which explains the presence of the Dispatch on this list).
The new Renault Mégane, meanwhile, is expected to arrive locally towards the end of the year, so just a single unit of the third-generation was sold in August. And the Golf Cabriolet makes the table since Volkswagen lists it separately from the Golf 7 hatchback (and rightly so, seeing as it runs on sixth-generation Golf underpinnings). Interestingly, we’ve just heard that the Golf Cabriolet has been removed from VW SA’s price list, effective September…
For reference, see July’s list here.
South Africa’s 12 worst-selling passenger cars (under R500k) of August 2016
1. Abarth 500 – 1
2. Alfa Romeo MiTo – 1
3. Citroën Dispatch – 1
4. Citroën C4 Aircross – 1
5. Jeep Compass – 1
6. MINI Paceman – 1
7. Renault Mégane – 1
8. Ssangyong Korando – 1
9. Suzuki Splash – 1
10. Tata Manza – 1
11. Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet – 1
12. Volvo V60 – 1
Also read:
- 5 bakkies we think South Africa would go crazy for
- 5 of the most blatant copycat cars out of China
- 5 big bakkies South Africa might want but can’t have
- 5 most expensive double-cab bakkies in South Africa
- South Africa’s 5 cheapest vehicles with low-range
- 5 biggest gas-guzzlers on SA’s new vehicle market
- 5 most fuel-efficient cars we’ve recently tested
- 7 most fuel-efficient non-hybrid petrol cars in SA
- 5 most fuel-efficient non-hybrid diesel cars in SA
