South Africa September 2012: VW Polo Vivo now #1 year-to-date

VW Polo Vivo

* See the Top 50 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

New car sales in South Africa slow down their growth in September, up ‘only’ 1% year-on-year to 55,097 registrations, bringing the year-to-date total to 466,918 units, up a still very respectable 10% on 2011. Big event atop the models ranking: thanks to another very strong month at #1 with 3,386 sales and 6.1% share (its third time in a row in pole position and the 5th time this year), the VW Polo Vivo passes the Toyota Hilux to become South Africa’s best-selling model in the 2012 year-to-date ranking at 26,688 units and 5.7% vs. 26,304 and 5.6% for the Toyota. The VW Polo new generation is stable in third place with 4.3% in September and 4.5% year-to-date.

Toyota Etios

The Toyota Etios confirms it is here to stay in the South African Top 10. After dipping slightly to #6 last month, it is back up to a best-ever 4th spot, a position it has held 3 times in the last 4 months. The Etios sells 1,736 units for a 3.2% share and continues to deliver an almost perfect scoresheet since its launch in the country 4 months ago: #7 for its first month in May, #4 in June, July and September and #6 in August… It is now #12 year-to-date with 8,472 sales and 1.8% share.

Hyundai Elantra

Other great performers this month include the BMW 3 Series up to #9, the Chevrolet Spark up to #13, the Chevrolet Sonic up to #18, the Audi A4 up 12 spots to #17, the Nissan Tiida up 51 to #27 and the Mazda BT-50 up 16 to #35. However, remember than in South Africa neither Mercedes nor Hyundai communicate models splits and therefore don’t appear in the ranking. In the case of Hyundai, a few of its models should rank within the South African Top 10 as unofficial data places the brand #1 in the country!

Previous month: South Africa August 2012: VW Polo Vivo #1, threatens Toyota Hilux YTD

One year ago: South Africa September 2011: VW Polo Vivo and Mercedes C-Class shine

Full September 2012 Top 50 Ranking Table below.