December 2017’s aggregate new vehicle sales in South Africa came in at 40 636 units or a decline of 2,4% year-on-year, according to Naamsa.
As always, it’s also 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 (also, be sure to check out the worst-selling vehicles).
Of course, one must bear in mind that certain automakers – such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW – disclose only aggregate sales statistics. Kia and Hyundai, however, thankfully started releasing their individual model sales figures a few months ago, which makes the picture a little clearer.
So, what happened in the final month of 2017? Well, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo held on to first place, while Toyota’s combination of the Corolla, Auris and Corolla Quest (the brand reports an overall figure rather than individual model sales) climbed one to second.
The Renault Kwid, meanwhile, rocketed up a startling seven places to third with its best sales performance ever. The Toyota Fortuner climbed two spots to fourth, while the outgoing Volkswagen Polo (check out pricing and specifications of the new-generation Polo here) fell three places to fifth.
The Toyota Etios dropped a couple of spots to sixth while the Ford EcoSport also fell two to seventh. The Toyota RAV4 returned to the table to grab eighth, while the Kia Picanto fell one to ninth. Lastly, the Ford Everest made an appearance to snaffle the final spot. Interestingly, sales of the Ford Fiesta virtually halved month-on-month, with 522 units sold in December.
Other interesting figures
Alfa Romeo’s local struggles continued in December, with the Giulia managing just three registrations and the new Stelvio contributing a mere 11 units. The Fiat Panda, too, could muster just three sales.
The Figo contributed 445 units for Ford, while the Focus managed 151, the Mustang 44 and the Kuga 66. Opel’s top-seller for the month was the Astra (71), while the Jazz (120) performed that role for Honda.
Hyundai enjoyed strong contributions from its Tucson (506), Grand i10 (503), Creta (425) and i20 (415). The Rio added 508 units to Kia’s cause, while the Sportage managed 225.
Jaguar Land Rover’s best performer was the Discovery (94), with the Range Rover Sport just a single unit behind. Mazda’s momentum continued courtesy of the CX-3 (312), CX-5 (290), Mazda3 (263) and Mazda2 (246).
Sales of the Datsun GO fell to 265 units in December, with the Nissan Micra Active (415) outselling its stablemate. The Almera (292) and X-Trail (231) also contributed gamely to Nissan’s total.
Peugeot just about broke the 100-unit barrier for the month, with the 208 managing 58 units. The Sandero (341) and Clio (308) backed up the Kwid for Renault, while the XV (38) was Subaru’s best-seller.
The outgoing Swift (237) and fresh-faced Ignis (161) led the way for Suzuki, while the Avanza added 299 units to Toyota’s total (along with 141 units from the Prado, 140 from the C-HR and 120 from the Land Cruiser 200).
The Golf (437) and Tiguan (432) performed admirably for Volkswagen, with the Up! (273) and Kombi (251) providing handy support. Audi gained the bulk of its volume from the A3 (244), while Volvo sold 51 examples of its V40 along with 34 units of its XC90.
See the top ten table below (and have a look back at November’s figures here):
South Africa’s 10 best-selling passengers cars of December 2017:
1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 1 230
2. Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest – 1 140
3. Renault Kwid – 1 120
4. Toyota Fortuner – 1 108
5. Volkswagen Polo – 1 028
6. Toyota Etios – 954
7. Ford EcoSport – 892
8. Toyota RAV4 – 791
9. Kia Picanto – 656
10. Ford Everest – 559
Also read:
- 5 vehicles we think would sell well in South Africa
- 7 most powerful manual cars you can buy new in SA
- 10 cheapest new diesel-powered passenger cars in SA
- 10 cheapest dual-clutch vehicles in South Africa…
- 11 cheapest six-cylinder passenger vehicles in SA
- 8 most expensive four-cylinder vehicles in SA…
- 7 most powerful sedans on SA’s new vehicle market
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- 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 cheapest automatics on SA’s new vehicle market
- 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
