South Africa September 2016: No improvement in sight, sales down 14%

The Toyota Hilux confirms it is the most popular vehicle in South Africa.

* See the Top 35 manufacturers and Top 270 All-models by clicking on the title *

The South African new car market is stuck in recession this year with September sales down another harsh 14% year-on-year to 47.399 units, pulling the year-to-date tally down 11% to 410.804. Local financial service provider WesBank says that average new car prices have soared 18% year-on-year in September, and consumers have turned to the pre-owned market, up 7% in September but this demand has also driven up prices, with the average deal value for a used car up 9% in September. Toyota remains the most popular manufacturer in the country with 22.9% share, doing a little better than the market at -7%. It is followed by the Volkswagen Group at 16.9% (-17%), Ford at 12% (-10%), Hyundai-Kia at 10% (-14%) and General Motors/Isuzu at 7.3% (-33%). BMW Group (+1%), Mazda (+23%), Mahindra (+44%) and Tata (+3%) manage to go against the grain and post positive results for the month.

The Datsun GO+ has landed in South Africa. 

The Toyota Hilux cements its market domination by losing slightly less ground than the market at -11% to 3.063 sales and 6.5% share vs. 2.872 (-31%) for the VW Polo Vivo and 2.437 (-15%) for the Ford Ranger. The Toyota Quantum (+20%, Ford Fiesta (+28%), Toyota Fortuner (+107%), Hyundai i10 (+99%), Toyota Avanza (+43%), Kia Picanto (+70%) and VW Up (+155%) are among the biggest gainers inside the Top 30. The Hyundai Tucson (#24) leads recent launches (<12 months), distancing the Mazda CX-3 (#41), Toyota Aygo (#49), Mercedes GLC (#58) and Mahindra KUV100 (#65). This month we welcome the Datsun GO+ (#67) and Honda BR-V (#173) into the South African sales charts.

Previous month: South Africa August 2016: Hilux and Fortuner keep Toyota afloat

One year ago: South Africa September 2015: Discover the All-models ranking (BSCB exclusive)

Full September 2016 Top 35 manufacturers and Top 270 All-models below.