Despite tough economy, Suzuki ends third quarter on sales high

Suzuki Auto South Africa ended the third quarter on a high when it sold 4,478 new passenger and commercial vehicles.

The Japanese carmaker's sales for the month of September, the last month of the third sales quarter, translate to a share of 14.14% of the local passenger vehicle market and 9.73% of the total vehicle market and places Suzuki in third position on both rankings.

“It's worth noting that Suzuki Auto managed to maintain its 14+% market share in the passenger vehicle market despite a general decline in sales and consumer confidence,” says Henno Havenga, GM of auto sales and marketing at Suzuki Auto SA.

The auto industry business council — naamsa — mirrored this sentiment, saying the average South African consumer is feeling the pressure of increased living costs, rising fuel prices and a general feeling of uncertainty and pessimism about the future.

According to naamsa, all new vehicle manufacturers sold a combined total of 46,021 vehicles in September. This is a decline of 4.1% over the same month last year. The passenger vehicle segment of the market, the largest segment, declined by 8.4% over the same comparative month, achieving total sales of 29,669 units in September.

In contrast, Suzuki sold 4,478 vehicles, which is not far off its overall sales record of 4,734 vehicles sold in August 2022. The Swift remains its most popular vehicle with 1,291 units finding homes in September. Its second-best seller was the new Fonx crossover SUV with 527 units sold. In third was the Ertiga with 443 units sold, followed by the S-Presso (420 units) and Baleno (409 units). Launched midway through April, the Eeco panel van was delivered to 172 owners.

Suzuki Auto SA's strong sales performance was announced in step with a global milestone for the brand. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), the parent company in SA and other markets, achieved worldwide vehicle sales of 80-million at the end of August.