South Africa's Top 20 Cars and Bakkie Sales in June 2014

The South African motor vehicle sales market is buckling under pressure as buyers continue to shun new cars for used cars. Furthermore, a strong exchange rate and rising interest rates should further undermine the industry, which as you read this is preparing for industrial action among its more than 200 thousand union members. These are the best performing sales numbers for June 2014.

Top 10 Passenger Cars

Volkswagen Polo – 2994 and Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2627

The original Polo and the Vivo have topped this list every month of 2014, which is understandable – people love VWs, and VW makes good cars. At 2994 and 2627 units sold respectively for the Polo and Polo Vivo, these two easily make up for the dismal performance that the Volkswagen Amarok bakkie has had in 2014 – in fact since its launch in 2010.

Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest – 2117

I cannot stop but admire the brilliance of Toyota South Africa with their move to re-introduce the previous generation Corolla as the Quest. The combined sales of the Corolla sedan, the Auris hatchback, and the Quest tallied to 2117 in June 2014.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 1421

The star performer in June was certainly the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. From 772 to 1421 units in May and June, that was an 84.1% increase. This continues a trend that can be attributed to the fantastic looks and top performance of the cars that Mercedes-Benz has launched in the past 18 months. Merc's advertising has certainly helped. If the momentum continues at this rate, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class will come out of 2014 as the most popular high-end sedan in South Africa. The biggest hurdle to these numbers of course, will be the strike in plants like Mercedes' in the Eastern Cape, which is one of four locations in the world that the C-Class is manufactured.

Ford Figo – 1011

The Ford Figo was another star performer last month, with sales recorded at 1011 units. That was a 16.6% rise from May 2014.

Below is the list of the bottom 5 of the 10 most popular cars in SA

Toyota Etios – 999
BMW 3 Series – 964
Chevrolet Spark – 850
Toyota Fortuner – 806
Ford Fiesta – 786

Top 10 Bakkies/LCVs

Toyota Hilux – 2939

The King of the Bakkies remains atop of our top ten list in the light commercial vehicle space. That's no surprise as the Toyota Hilux has been the most popular bakkie in South Africa for many years now. With 2939 units sold in June 2014, it had an 11.4% rise from May's 2637 sales.

Ford Ranger – 2536

The Ford Ranger's American counter-part, the bigger, badder, bolder Ford F-150 bakkie has been named the most “American” car in the world, in a list that was dominated by vehicles made by...Japanese. South Africans also love the Ranger, and the 26% rise in sales from the May to June months is evidence of that. We are at a point where, if both the Hilux and Ranger continue to up their sales at these constant rates, the Ranger could dethrone the Hilux. That's a long shot of course, given the current strike in the steel and manufacturing industry.

Nissan NP200 – 1639

For the past two months, the NP200 has outdone its closest rival, Chevy's Utility bakkie. We detailed this rivalry in this article. At 1639 units for June, this was the Nissan NP200's second best sales month in 2014.

Isuzu KB – 1480

As GM breaks ties with Isuzu and focuses more and more on its massive car recalls, Isuzu's KB bakkies have been doing well in South Africa. Although, from May to June, the KB's sales have been flat, with just a decline of 2 units from May.

Chevrolet Utility – 1304

Chevrolet's parent company, General Motors will (by the end of 2014) come out stronger or decimate into oblivion. That might be an exaggeration, however, with recalls reaching the tens of millions, it won't be a surprise if people simply stop buying GM made cars. In SA, GM is still raking in many billions with its Utility, which had 1304 unit sales in June. The Chevy Spark also made its début in the top ten list of passenger cars.