The SA Vehicle Industry Thread

We need to have a meaningful discussion why the B-Max is such a poor seller in SA...

SA’s 13 worst-selling cars (under R500k) of Mar 2017

The monthly Naamsa stats generally make for rather interesting reading. But, naturally, we tend to focus on the best-performing vehicles in terms of sales.

Indeed, we’ve already reported the 10 best-selling passenger cars of March 2017, as well as listing the 10 best-selling bakkies in our market for the same period.

But now we’ve decided to take a look at the worst-selling passenger car models on our shores. Of course, we must bear in mind that certain importers – such as Hyundai and Kia – do not submit individual model sales figures, instead only disclosing aggregate sales stats. Mercedes-Benz, too, has taken a similar stance in recent times, while BMW SA also recently joined the non-reporting party.

Also, take note that – in order to make this list more relevant – we’ve excluded vehicles ranges that start at more than R500 000. Otherwise, this table would be dominated by luxury manufacturers such as Bentley, Ferrari and Maserati, whose high-priced vehicles traditionally sell in tiny numbers. We also don’t count the sales from run-out stock of vehicles that have been discontinued locally (you can see some examples below).

So, what happened in March 2017?

Well, just a single unit of each of the Ford B-Max, Ssangyong Korando and Tata Manza was registered over the month, while the Abarth 500 range, Infiniti Q50, Volkswagen Beetle and Volvo V60 each managed two.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta added just three units, with the Ford Fusion, Tata Vista and Volkswagen Scirocco mustered just four apiece. The Toyota 86 (with a facelifted version set to be launched locally this month) sold five units, as did the Volkswagen Golf SV.

Some of the discontinued models we didn’t take into account include the Mahindra Quanto (1), Peugeot 3008 (1) and Renault Megane III (one, as opposed to 44 fourth-generation models).

For reference, see February’s list here.

South Africa’s 13 worst-selling passenger cars (under R500k) of March 2017:

Ford B-Max – 1
Ssangyong Korando – 1
Tata Manza – 1
Abarth 595 – 2
Infiniti Q50 – 2
Volkswagen Beetle – 2
Volvo V60 – 2
Alfa Romeo Giulietta – 3
Ford Fusion – 4
Tata Vista – 4
Volkswagen Scirocco – 4
Toyota 86 – 5
Volkswagen Golf SV – 5

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/sas-13-worst-selling-cars-under-r500k-of-march-2017/
 
Nah....36 for March

http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/c...hicles-sales-flash-results-for-march-2017.pdf

77f99068bc1584dec1e8a147c37a04d4.jpg

Why no Korean manufacturers on the list?
 
Why not? Or rather, why do all the others?

They prefer to report in a different manner:

"One must bear in mind that certain importers – such as Hyundai and Kia – do not submit individual model sales figures, instead only disclosing aggregate sales stats. Mercedes-Benz, too, has taken a similar stance, with BMW SA recently joining its German rival in reporting one aggregate sales number in terms of passenger car sales."

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/sas-10-best-selling-passenger-cars-of-march-2017/
 
They prefer to report in a different manner:

"One must bear in mind that certain importers – such as Hyundai and Kia – do not submit individual model sales figures, instead only disclosing aggregate sales stats. Mercedes-Benz, too, has taken a similar stance, with BMW SA recently joining its German rival in reporting one aggregate sales number in terms of passenger car sales."

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/sas-10-best-selling-passenger-cars-of-march-2017/

Interesting. Thanks
 
Best-selling sports cars in SA: Mustang reigns supreme

The Ford Mustang remains South Africa’s best-selling sport car since it was first launched in the country and has no intent of relinquishing that position.

In March 2017, Ford has sold a total of 77 Mustang muscle cars, three times more than its nearest competitor.

Chasing the ‘Stang

Porsche again had a great month in 2017, during which it sold 25 Cayman/Boxster (second place) and 16 units of its 911 (third).

Ferrari sold seven California Ts to slingshot this vehicle into the top four. Jaguar’s F-Type found six new owners in fifth place, followed by the Audi R8 (4 units) in sixth.

The Ferrari 488 GTB and 488 GTB Spider each sold three new units, while the Nissan GT-R in ninth and Alfa Romeo 4C in tenth each sold two.

Even if the sales figures of the vehicles in positions two to nine are calculated, it still falls someway short of the Mustang’s 77.

What counts in this Ford’s favour is that the Mustang has a cult following the world over and since it came to SA more than a year ago it has been a sales’ de force.

http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/SA_v...s-cars-in-sa-mustang-resigns-surpeme-20170405
 
Meanwhile in the UK...

UK car market hits record high in March 2017

March 2017 was the biggest month ever for new car registrations; experts suggest that new VED charges could be the catalyst

Growth in the UK car market of 8.4% in March made last month the most successful month ever for new car registrations, with a total of 562,337 new cars registered.

The big month also pushed the year-to-date total to 820,016 registrations, making Q1 of 2017 the most successful quarter yet seen by the industry.

Diesel cars also experienced their best month yet, although petrol car registrations increased considerably, by 13.2% compared with March of last year. Alternatively fuelled vehicles – hybrids, electric cars and hydrogen electric cars – continued their climb, with the segment growing 31% on last March.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “These record figures are undoubtedly boosted by consumers and businesses reacting to new VED changes, pulling forward purchases into March, especially those ultra-low emission vehicles that will no longer benefit from a zero-rate fee.”

Hawes also predicted a slump in April as the new VED changes come into effect, as well as the fewer days of sales due to Easter. The SMMT also pegged fleet and business sales as a large driver for the increase, with increases of 12.6% and 11.9% respectively.

The biggest-selling car in the UK this year remains the Ford Fiesta (38,205 units so far), with the Focus and Vauxhall Corsa following some way behind – 23,886 and 21,305 registrations. Mini gained 10,003 registrations in March, too, which pushed the Nissan Juke into tenth, and the Audi A3 out of the top 10.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/uk-car-market-hits-record-high-march-2017
 
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