The newly facelifted Volkswagen Polo Vivo topped the passenger sales charts in September. Picture: Supplied
The South African new vehicle market has yet to turn the corner, with September seeing a year-on-year decline of 4.1% overall - see our full industry insight here.
While the bakkie and light commercial vehicle market tanked by a worrying 17.1%, the passenger car sector registered growth of 2%, fuelled by demand from the rental industry.
Despite the bakkie slump, which could have been partially caused by the departure of Nissan’s once-popular NP200, the Toyota Hilux (2,942 units) and Ford Ranger (2,382) both enjoyed robust sales last month.
But the passenger cars and SUVs were really cooking with gas, with the newly facelifted Volkswagen Polo Vivo leading the way with 2,407 sales. The Toyota Corolla Cross saw some sales growth too, with just over 2,000 examples finding homes in September.
The Toyota Fortuner (1,086) and Hyundai Grand i10 (1,062) were runners-up in the passenger market, while the usually-popular Suzuki Swift receded to 539 units as it runs out in preparation for the new-generation model.
Interestingly, in a sure sign of the times, the Toyota Starlet and Suzuki Baleno were both ousted by their crossover siblings, the Starlet Cross and Suzuki Fronx, albeit by a narrow margin. Hyundai’s newly introduced Exter also saw an impressive performance, with 453 units sold, despite it only being launched later in the month.
Click here to see the top 15 manufacturers in September.
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