Despite the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, Volkswagen SA has confirmed a rather successful 10 months of sales for 2021. The local arm of the German brand was also able to push through the global shortage of semiconductor chips to remain SA’s best-selling passenger car brand in the first 10 months of 2021.
“In October, the Volkswagen brand (including Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles), sold 5 614 vehicles; the locally-manufactured Polo was our brand’s best-selling model last month with 1 693 units delivered to customers,” said Steffen Knapp, head of the Volkswagen Passenger Car Brand.
In the first 10 months of 2021, the passenger car division of Volkswagen SA has sold 51 381 vehicles in the local market. The Volkswagen Polo Vivo is the best-selling model with 18 241 units sold (2 747 more units when compared to the same period last year). The T-Cross, the leader of the A0 SUV segment, is now the best-selling imported model with 5 912 units sold from January to October.
“Despite the vehicle supply challenges our Brand is experiencing, our dealer partners, which account for over 75 per cent of total Volkswagen sales, displayed resilience to ensure that we maintain our leadership in the passenger car market in SA,” concluded Knapp.
The Volkswagen model range was bolstered by the market introduction of the new Tiguan in July and new Golf GTI in September. The new Tiguan, which is Volkswagen’s second best-selling SUV, has sold 1 301 units since its launch. Meanwhile, the new Golf GTI has sold 201 units during its first two months of retail.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has improved its market share to 3,7 per cent when compared to the same period last year. The brand delivered 4 356 units to customers in the first 10 months of 2021. The Amarok double cab is the best-selling model with 1 485 units sold and accounted for over 30 per cent of the Brand’s sales. The T6,1 Kombi and Caravelle also reported good sales of 853 units during this period.
Volkswagen SA says that 2022 will be an exciting year in terms of product offerings. The German manufacturer is expected to introduce the updated Polo, Taigo, and a new Polo Sedan. Performance will be taken to the next level with the market introduction of the new Golf and Tiguan R.
For Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, 2022 will also be an important year with the market introductions of the new Caddy and the highly anticipated next-generation Amarok.
