South African new-vehicle sales started off 2019 modestly due to fewer passenger cars leaving showrooms than expected.
The overall market - including cars, light commercials and trucks – was 42,374 units last month, a decline of 7.4% compared to January last year. In contrast, export sales started the year on a relatively strong note with 18,289 vehicles which reflected a substantial 29.4% improvement over January 2018.
The new-car market was particularly weak last month and the 29,040 units sold registered a fall of 10.8% compared January last year. As was the case for most of last year, the car rental industry had made a major contribution accounting for 19.9% of new car sales in January 2019 – translating into one in every five new cars sold.
Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses at 11,681 units last month were virtually unchanged from January 2019, while the medium and heavy truck segments held up relatively well at 552 units (up 24.6%) and 1,101 units (a gain of 0.3%) respectively.
TOP 30 BEST-SELLING NEW VEHICLES – JANUARY 2019
1 Toyota Hilux 2794
2 VW Polo 2512
3 VW Polo Vivo 2461
4 Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest 2202
5 Ford Ranger 2194
6 Nissan NP200 1483
7 Toyota Quantum 1281
8 Toyota Fortuner 1000
9 Hyundai Grand i10 867
10 Isuzu D-Max 821
11 Hyundai i20 715
12 Toyota Etios 698
13 Toyota Yaris 693
14 Ford Ecosport 679
15 Ford Figo 669
16 Kia Picanto 612
17 Toyota Avanza 567
18 Datsun Go 560
19 Nissan NP300 529
20 Renault Kwid 519
21 Suzuki Swift 479
22 Toyota Rav4 476
23 VW Tiguan 448
24 Toyota Rush 425
25 Mazda CX-5 408
26 Nissan Almera 405
27 Ford Everest 371
28 Mazda CX-3 363
29 Kia Rio 316
30 Ford Fiesta 298
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