December 2018: SA's best-selling cars

SA new-vehicle sales ended 2018 on a weak note with the 39 984 units in December 2018 recording a decline of 1.9% compared to December 2017.

Annual sales figures declined by 1.0% from 552 190 units in 2018 compared to the total of 557,703 units in 2017.

The annual decline reflected the weak macro-economic environment, pressure on consumers’ disposable income and fragile business and consumer confidence, according to NAAMSA (National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA). November’s 0.25% increase in interest rates would also have impacted on new vehicle financing and sales, added the association.

The December 2018 passenger car market and light commercial vehicle market reflected year on year volume declines of 0.2% in the case of new cars and a substantial decrease in the case of light commercial vehicles of 7.0%.

Sales of medium commercial vehicles had also been weak, declining by 10.1%. On the other hand, sales of heavy commercial vehicles had improved 13.8% year on year in December.

In contrast, export sales of 31 437 units in December 2018 were a massive 56.3% improvement on the corresponding month in 2017.

The Toyota Hilux took its usual spot at the top of the sales charts in December, ahead of the VW Polo and Ford Ranger.

BEST-SELLING VEHICLES IN DECEMBER 2018

1. Toyota Hilux  –  2 907

2. Volkswagen Polo – 2 051

3. Ford Ranger – 1 931

4. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 1 711

5. Nissan NP200 – 1 572

6. Renault Kwid – 1 354

7. Toyota Quantum – 1 245

8. Toyota Fortuner – 1 027

9. Hyundai Grand i10 – 906

10. Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest - 858

11. Renault Clio – 775

12. Hyundai i20 - 619

13. Isuzu D-MAX – 593

14. Datsun Go – 508

14. Kia Picanto – 508

16. Toyota Etios – 507

17. Volkswagen Tiguan – 485

18. Renault Sandero – 449

19. Nissan NP300 – 439

20. Ford Figo – 424

21. Isuzu KB – 420

22. Suzuki Swift – 419

23. Toyota Avanza – 416

24. Toyota RAV4 – 410

25. Volkswagen Kombi – 408

26. Mazda CX-5 – 389

27. Ford Everest – 385

28. Ford Ecosport – 332

29. Volkswagen Amarok – 323

30. Kia Rio – 304

* Data supplied by Naamsa. List excludes BMW and Mercedes-Benz who don’t report their monthly sales figures.