According to Naamsa, August’s new vehicle industry sales came in at 47 964 units, representing a fall of 2,5%, year on year. Here’s what happened in the eighth month of the year in the passenger car segment…
As always, it’s interesting to take a look at what’s happening in terms of individual model sales. We’ve already examined the figures and picked out the 10 best-selling bakkies for the month, and now it’s time to do the same with the passenger vehicle market.
Unfortunately, BMW has “for the time being” again opted to report only aggregate sales data, mirroring the approach taken by German rival Mercedes-Benz not to provide individual model sales figures. Kia and Hyundai, though, thankfully started releasing their individual model sales figures months ago, which makes the picture a little clearer.
So, what happened in August 2018? Well, the Volkswagen Polo retained the passenger vehicle sales crown, easily outselling the Polo Vivo, which again had to settle for second. Toyota’s combination of the Corolla, Auris and Corolla Quest (the brand reports an overall figure rather than individual model sales) remained in third place.
The Kia Picanto rocketed four places up the table to take fourth, pushing its Hyundai Grand i10 cousin down one to fifth. The Toyota Etios climbed three places to sixth, with the Toyota Fortuner close behind in seventh (falling two spots).
The Toyota Yaris dropped two places to eighth, while the Renault Kwid returned to the table to grab ninth. The Ford Figo, meanwhile, clung to tenth.
Other bits and bobs
So, what else caught our eye in August 2018? Well, by combining all of its brands, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles managed to just about break into three figures, with the Fiat 500 (21) and Tipo (15) proving the most popular offerings.
Ford’s refreshed EcoSport hit 537 units for the month, while the new Fiesta (393) also contributed to the Blue Oval brand’s cause. Although the Everest (429) couldn’t keep up with the Fortuner, it easily outsold the Isuzu MU-X (83) and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (41). And the Mustang? Another solid month, with 118 units registered (six more than the Kuga)…
Honda’s top performer was the HR-V (152), which outperformed the Jazz (117), Brio (112) and BR-V (109). Hyundai enjoyed a particularly strong showing from its i20 (674), while the Tucson (354) and Creta (310) also contributed gamely, despite the disruption that came with switching over to facelifted versions.
In August, the Range Rover Sport (85) was the best-selling vehicle in Jaguar Land Rover’s stable, while the E-Pace managed 76 units (three more than the Volvo XC40). Kia registered a further two examples of its Stinger, along with 340 units of its Rio and 208 of its Sportage. Mahindra hit a total of 166 units for the month, with the XUV (43) proving its most popular vehicle.
The Mazda CX-5 (448) had a particularly strong month, with the CX-3 (338), Mazda3 (277) and Mazda2 (217) also coming to the party for the Japanese automaker. The Nissan group fell just 30 units short of the 2 000-mark, with the Datsun Go (631) doing the bulk of the heavy lifting. The Almera (405), new Micra (219) and Qashqai (201) also made an impression in August.
The Crossland X (85) was Opel’s top-seller for the month, just ahead of the Corsa (81). Peugeot’s total fell to 60 units, almost half of which came courtesy of the 3008 (29). The Renault Sandero (683), meanwhile, came close to winning a place in the top ten, and was ably backed up by the Clio (408).
Suzuki again crossed into four figures for the month, with the new Swift (488), Ignis (192) and Celerio (130) doing the majority of the work. In addition to the four spots it occupied in the top ten, Toyota also enjoyed strong performances from the Avanza (442), Rush (300) and C-HR (223). The RAV4, meanwhile, fell to 268 units (down drastically from 949 in the previous month).
The A4 (188) outsold the A3 (153) for Audi, while the Tiguan (417), Golf (332) and Up (208) returned solid months for the Volkswagen brand. The new Volvo XC60, meanwhile, hit 92 units in August, making it the Swedish automaker’s most popular product locally.
See the top ten table below (and have a look back at July 2018’s figures here):
South Africa’s 10 best-selling passenger cars of August 2018:
1. Volkswagen Polo – 3 414
2. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 1 900
3. Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest – 1 155
4. Kia Picanto – 1 071
5. Hyundai Grand i10 – 1 020
6. Toyota Etios – 900
7. Toyota Fortuner – 888
8. Toyota Yaris – 884
9. Renault Kwid – 767
10. Ford Figo – 732
Also read:
- 5 vehicles we think would sell well in South Africa
- 8 most expensive four-cylinder vehicles in SA…
- 7 most powerful sedans on SA’s new vehicle market
- 7 most powerful SUVs on SA’s new vehicle market
- 5 biggest engines on South Africa’s new car market
- 7 most expensive SUVs on SA’s new vehicle market
- 5 cheapest rear-wheel-drive cars in South Africa
- 6 most powerful naturally aspirated new cars in SA
- 5 cheapest new cars in SA with 200 kW or more
- 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
