The official local body representing new vehicle manufacturers, Naamsa (National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa), has released its latest vehicle sales figures, revealing the best selling vehicles in South Africa during February 2013.

According to Naamsa, the South African new vehicle market closed last month at sales of 53 220 units. Light Commercial Vehicles increased by 4.7% compared to the same period last year, while passenger cars sales remained stable, barely registering an 0.8% year-on-year increase.

Volkswagen Group South Africa maintained its leadership in the South African passenger car market with total sales of 8 516 units and a market share of 23.2% during February 2013.
The German car maker’s Polo Vivo was the top selling passenger car within February, with 2 742 units delivered to customers. VW’s newest iteration of the Golf, the Golf 7, also got off to a positive sales start with the delivery of 767 units.

Top performing: New passenger vehicles - February 2013

Model                                               Volume

1. VW Polo Vivo                               2 742
2. Toyota Etios                                2 204
3. VW Polo                                       2 192
4. BMW 3-Series                            1 075  
5. Toyota Corolla                            1 048
6. Ford Figo                                     982
7. Toyota Fortuner                          927
8. Nissan Micra                              806       
9. VW Golf 7                                    767
10. Ford Focus                               596                 

“The sale of the new passenger cars through dealers, which has been weak for the past three months, recovered quite strongly in February. The sales grew by an estimated 16% on January 2013 and 4.9% up on February 2012,” stated Mike Glendinning, director of Sales and Marketing at Volkswagen Group South Africa.

Top performing: New light commercial vehicles - February 2013

Model                                             Volume

1. Toyota Hilux                               3500
2. Ford Ranger                              1784
3. Chev Utility                                 1483
4. Nissan NP200                          1245
5. Toyota Quantum                       1209
6. Isuzu KB                                     1108
7. Nissan NP300 Hardbody        699
8. Nissan Navara                          306
9. VW Amarok                                 292
10. Mazda BT-50                             290

According to Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA), dealers sold 4 085 Fords during February 2013, resulting in a 15% sales growth for the company col2mpared to January 2013.

“The industry was slightly softer than last month and relatively stable year-on-year, although February numbers will always show the first true signs of market sentiment for the year,” FMCSA’s VP of Marketing, Sales and Service, Dean Stoneley, commented upon the latest Naamsa figures.

“We remain positive for a good overall market picture this year and confident that Ford will capitalise during 2013 as we enter new market segments and continue to sustain demand for our existing range,” Stoneley concluded.

In other car related news, Hyundai South Africa recently launched a new 1.4 CRDi turbodiesel version of the i20, which now takes its place at the top of the local i20 range.