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By Charl Bosch

Motoring Journalist


Hilux still leads as April new vehicle sales decrease

Exports took the brunt of the April sales decline.


After posting a recovery in March, South Africa’s new vehicle sales dived back into the red in April despite being well and truly up on last year’s Covid-19 battered figures.

According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), April’s sales dropped by 17.6% to 35 779 from the 43 428 recorded in March this year with all of the various segments also decreasing.

Total passenger vehicle numbers declined by 13.9% from the 26 599 in March to 22 911, while light commercial vehicles dropped by a massive 24.3% from March’s 14 364 to 10 879.

Ordinarily mixed, medium and heavy duty commercial vehicle sales ended April down across the board with the former declining by 24.2% to 511 units and the latter by 17.5% for a total of 1 478.

Hardest hit during the month, whose decline NAAMSA attributes to the number of public holidays, was exports with the 26 522 units shipped signalling a downturn of 32.2% from March’s 39 141.

“Although the new vehicle market in 2021 is expected to rebound substantially compared to 2020, aggregate new vehicle sales in 2020 dropped back to the level of 18 years ago and a recovery to the pre-Covid-19 level would take at least three years,” NAAMSA said.

Out of the best performing manufactures, Toyota continued to remain on top with sales of 8 810 units, followed by Volkswagen (6 017), Hyundai (2 632), Ford (2 471), Suzuki (2 244), Nissan (1 727), Isuzu (1 638), Renault (1 432), BMW (1 199) and Kia (1 133).

APRIL TOP 50 BEST SELLERS

POS MODEL UNITS
1 Toyota Hilux 3 163
2 Volkswagen Polo Vivo 1 849
3 Volkswagen Polo 1 792
4 Ford Ranger 1 705
5 Isuzu D-Max 1 402
6 Toyota HiAce 1 209
7 Nissan NP200 1 082
8 Toyota Urban Cruiser 795
9 Suzuki Swift 652
10 Toyota Corolla Quest 652
11 Renault Kwid 642
12 Toyota Fortuner 615
13 Hyundai Venue 572
14 Suzuki S-Presso 571
15 Hyundai Grand i10 537
16 Toyota Starlet 503
17 Volkswagen Polo Sedan 502
18 Volkswagen T-Cross 498
19 Toyota Agya 467
20 Renault Triber 436
21 Ford EcoSport 430
22 Haval H2 400
23 Mazda CX-5 350
24 Suzuki Vitara Brezza 347
25 Volkswagen T-Roc 347
26 Kia Picanto 338
27 Mahindra Pik-up 338
28 Kia Seltos 331
29 Hyundai Creta 326
30 Hyundai Atos 322
31 Hyundai i20 255
32 Mazda CX-3 253
33 Toyota RAV4 246
34 Toyota Avanza 239
35 GWM P-Series 237
36 Kia Rio 234
37 Hyundai H100 231
38 GWM Steed 216
39 Toyota Land Cruiser 216
40 Nissan NP300 Hardbody 210
41 Renault Duster 200
42 Suzuki Jimny 200
43 Hyundai Tucson 191
44 Land Rover Defender 191
45 Volkswagen T6.1 180
46 Haval H1 171
47 Ford Everest 166
48 Suzuki Ertiga 166
49 Volkswagen Caddy 134
50 Mazda2 126

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