Vehicle sales hit new record in November as Polo Vivo tops Hilux

South Africa’s new vehicle sales remained on the upwards trajectory in November by recording its best month of the year so far at nearly 50 000 units.

New leader

Equally as a big surprise was the unsettling of the Toyota Hilux as the country’s monthly best-seller by the Volkswagen Polo Vivo for the first time since May last year when the Ford Ranger placed it above its arch rival.

Raking-up sales of 2 999 units, the Kariega-built Vivo bettered the Prospecton-assembled Hilux by 297 units, with the latter’s Durban-manufactured stablemate, the Toyota Corolla Cross, finishing third on 2 655 followed by the Silverton-produced Ranger on 2 248.

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Taking fifth, the new Suzuki Swift finished the month as the best non-locally produced vehicle on 1 766, followed by Isuzu D-Max as the fifth and final South Africa-made model on 1 764.

Completing the rest of the top 10 in an even split between local and imported vehicles, the Hyundai Grand i10 finished seventh above the Toyota Starlet on 1 395 versus 1 238.

The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, meanwhile, ranked above the Great Wall Motors (GWM) Haval Jolion as the top-selling Chinese vehicle, with sales of 1 191 compared to 1 062.

Month in detail

Citing the second consecutive month of sales increase to lower interest rates following the Reserve Bank’s dropping of the repo rate of 25 basis points, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) posted sales of 48 585 for November, an improvement of 8.8% over the 44 927 vehicles moved 12 months ago.

Despite this, individual segments ended on yet another negative note, with only passenger vehicle sales ending in the black with an uptake of 20% from 29 525 to 35 101.

After shedding over 10% in October, light commercial vehicles decreased even further in November with a downturn of 16.3% from 12 937 to 10 827.

Significantly smaller but still in negative territory, medium-duty commercials lost 9.2% to settle at 699 from last year’s 770, while heavy-duty commercial vehicles dropped by a scant 0.5% from 1 968 to 1 958.

Continuing to take the brunt, though, exports nosedived by 28.6% from November 2023 to 42 641 to 30 431.

“In view of the stronger year-end performance, new vehicle sales were now only 3.5% below the corresponding period 2023, but unlikely to return to the pre-pandemic level after four years in 2024,” Naamsa said in a statement.

“Further interest rate cuts in the new year would support vehicle affordability across all the various segments”.

Top 10 brands

Out of the 10 best-selling brands, the top three continued unchanged for a third straight month, with Toyota placing first on 12 106, Volkswagen second on 6 321 and Suzuki third on 6 004.

The next six positions also remained as is from October; Ford fourth on 3 071, Hyundai fifth on 2 940 and Isuzu sixth on 2 061.

Taking seventh and eighth places respectively were Chery on 2 006 and GWM on 1 847.

Rounding out the top 10, Kia kept its ninth place with an offset of 1 662, this time ahead of a returning Renault with 1 505.

November top 50 best-selling cars

1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2 999
2. Toyota Hilux – 2 702
3. Toyota Corolla Cross – 2 655
4. Ford Ranger – 2 248
5. Suzuki Swift – 1 776
6. Isuzu D-Max – 1 764
7. Hyundai Grand i10 – 1 395
8. Toyota Starlet – 1 238
9. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – 1 191
10. GWM Haval Jolion – 1 062
11. Kia Sonet – 1 059
12. Volkswagen Polo – 1 003
13. Nissan Magnite – 945
14. Suzuki Fronx – 888
15. Toyota Fortuner – 872
16. Toyota Urban Cruiser – 870
17. Toyota Starlet Cross – 710
18. Mahindra Pik Up – 699
19. Renault Kwid – 692
20. Toyota HiAce – 635
21. Suzuki Baleno – 574
22. Mahindra XUV 3X0 – 522
23. Volkswagen T-Cross – 479
24. Chery Tiggo 7 Pro – 468
25. Toyota Rumion – 445
26. Suzuki DZire – 441
27. Renault Kiger – 439
28. Suzuki Jimny 439
29. Hyundai Exter – 438
30. Omoda C5 – 419
31. Toyota Vitz – 407
32. Hyundai i20 – 379
33. Toyota Corolla Quest – 369
34. Renault Triber – 349
35. Nissan Navara – 344
36. Volkswagen Amarok – 337
37. GWM Haval H6 – 334
38. Suzuki Ciaz – 330
39. Ford Territory – 326
40. Toyota Land Cruiser 70-series – 314
41. Ford Everest – 282
42. GWM P-Series – 280
43. Volkswagen Tiguan – 255
44. Audi Q3 / Q3 Sportback – 220
45. Suzuki S-Presso – 213
46. Suzuki Grand Vitara – 212
47. Hyundai H100 – 206
48. Chery Tiggo Cross – 205
49. Jaecoo J7 – 202
50. Kia Seltos – 201

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