The SA Vehicle Industry Thread

Ford, Porsche continue to sell the most sports cars in SA

Ford and Porsche continue to sell the most sports cars in South Africa, with their respective products, the Mustang and 911, ruling the roost at the end of July 2017.

The Mustang found 62 new owners, which is almost double that of the 911 on 36 new owners.

Tight battles

Behind the two leaders, the battles for the remaining slots are as close as they come. The Porsche 718 Cayman/Boxster takes third place with 13 units, beating the Jaguar F-Type (12 units) by a solitary unit.

Audi’s R8 takes fifth place after finding six new owners.

Ferrari continues to impress with its offerings. The 488 Spider found four new owners, followed by the 488 GTB on two.

The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, one of the most expensive sports cars in SA retailing for over R7-million, also found two new owners.

The Alfa Romeo 4C (two units) round out the list.

Nissan did not register any units on its GT-R.

http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/SA_v...e-to-sell-the-most-sports-cars-in-sa-20170803

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SA car sales: New Land Rover Discovery makes bold statement

The all-new Land Rover Discovery was launched in South Africa in the early days of July 2017 but the newcomer has already made an impact in the luxury SUV market.

The fifth-generation Discovery recorded 131 units sold, substantially more than the Toyota Land Cruiser 200 (94 units).

Another constant contestant for top spot, the Toyota Prado, only registered 61 units in third place, but it beat the perennial leader in luxury SUVs, the Range Rover/Range Rover Sport on 52 units.

The Volvo XC90 grabbed fifth place, 51 new owners locally. The Porsche Cayenne and Jaguar F-Pace sold 49 units each.

June 2017’s top-selling luxury SUV, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, slipped down the order quite a bit; registering only 42 units in eighth place.

The Range Rover Evoque and Audi Q7 complete the top ten with 36 and 20 units, respectively.

Naamsa said: "The domestic automotive industry is holding up relatively well in the current difficult economic environment.

"Domestic new vehicle sales closely correlate with the overall performance of the economy and confidence levels."

http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/SA_v...ry-makes-bold-statement-in-suv-sales-20170803

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SA car sales: Vehicle exports to rise, 'lack of consumer confidence'

South Africa’s new vehicle sales grew 4.1% in July with a total of 46 719 units sold, reports the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa).

The big highlight in the SA auto industry is the massive improvement in export sales; 35 486 vehicles, an increase of 6456 unit or 22.2% compared to the 29 030 vehicles exported in July last year.

What does this all mean for the local auto industry? Naamsa responds below:

'Lack of confidence' in auto industry

Naamsa said: "The domestic automotive industry is holding up relatively well in the current difficult economic environment.

"Domestic new vehicle sales closely correlated with the overall performance of the economy and confidence levels. The fundamental challenge confronting the country at present was a lack of confidence, on the part of business and consumers.

"Concerted steps are required by business, government and labour to create a more investor-friendly environment as a means of boosting growth."

"The improvement in new car sales and the strength in recent months in the light commercial vehicle segment were therefore most encouraging, claimed the organisation."

Naamsa said: "The recent 25 basis points reduction in interest rates should provide some relief for hard pressed consumers, whilst the progressive improvement in South Africa’s trade balance over the past two years would support the exchange rate and in turn would moderate new vehicle price inflation."

'Sales fairly flat'

"Naamsa anticipates that the overall market for 2017 would probably turn out to be fairly flat at levels similar to those recorded in 2016. Vehicle exports should continue to benefit from global economic growth at about 3.5%," said the organisation.

WesBank's, head of Brand and Communications, Rudolf Mahoney, says: "July’s sales performance can be attributed to positive changes in the underlying fundamentals in the market. We see this in our data, where the demand for new vehicle finance is up 9% this past month."

Mahoney says: "Headline inflation and new vehicle price inflation have declined, following a strong performance by the Rand."

Vehicle manufacturers have also taken advantage of the performance of the currency to directly pass value to consumers, says WesBank

http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/Indu...-to-rise-lack-of-consumer-confidence-20170804
 
SA car sales: Toyota leads the way

The Hilux has topped the sales charts in July, also claiming top spot as the country’s bestselling model year to date – Hilux is ahead of its nearest competitor by 613 units.

Further amplifying Toyota’s chart-topping performance in the latest sales report were stellar showings by Corolla/Auris/Quest in the passenger vehicle segment. These models racked up a total of 1480 units, says the automaker.

In the popular leisure vehicles division both Fortuner and RAV4 stamping their authority, with segment-leading sales of 1033 and 641 respectively. Toyota’s ever-popular people movers Quantum and Avanza have also sustained their heroic achievements, posting class-leading figures of 1033 and 412 respectively.

Calvyn Hamman, Senior vice-president of Sales & Marketing for Toyota South Africa Motors, says: "The South African vehicle sales market has proven to be resilient again despite the negative sentiment expressed in the local economy. With a total of 46 719 vehicles sold in July, compared to 44 870 in the same month in 2016, it appears that the local vehicle market is much stronger than we thought.

"While the overall performance by TSAM is laudable – including the ability to maintain market dominance – we never rest on our laurels. Toyota's sales prowess is testimony to the company’s dedicated staff and dealers whose passion is also passed on to our loyal customers."

On the commercial vehicle front, Hino achieved a 24, 6% share in the medium commercial segment while Hino 500 series increased its share to 20% in heavy commercials.

“TSAM would like to express a sincere gratitude to all its customers for their continued support during these tough economic times. We are proud of our dealers for the huge role they play in creating customer smiles, coupled with our commitment to Quality, Durability and Reliability (QDR)," says Hamman.

http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/Industry_News/sa-car-sales-toyota-leads-the-way-20170804
 
July sales: Kia and Hyundai vs segment rivals

We see a lot of them on the roads, but actually quantifying the popularity of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in South Africa has been a difficult task until recently.

In July, the local distributor of the two South Korean brands, Motus, started reporting monthly sales figures for its individual models to Naamsa for the first time. Although it was sometimes possible to obtain retrospective sales figures, this is the first time that we’re able to compare Kia and Hyundai sales to those of their rivals, directly and on a monthly basis.

So without further ado, let’s take a closer look at how popular these Korean cars were in July.

As you’ll see below, where we’ve compared a large selection of Hyundai and Kia models to their most popular rivals, the two brands feature prominently in many of the segments in which they compete.

Kia is a strong contender in the compact hatchback game, while Hyundai is doing rather well among the smaller and medium-sized SUVs.

However, the two brands do lag a little in the Corolla class as well as the large SUV segment

JULY 2016 SALES

Budget Car

Volkswagen Polo Vivo 2675
Toyota Etios 973
Renault Kwid 799
Kia Picanto 659
Datsun Go 647
Hyundai Grand i10 565
Renault Sandero 469
Ford Figo 354
Suzuki Swift 337
Hyundai i10 280


Compact Sedan/Hatch

Volkswagen Polo 1623
Ford Fiesta 998
Kia Rio 635
Nissan Almera 406
Renault Clio 362
Hyundai i20 349
Hyundai Accent 327
Toyota Yaris 242
Mazda2 203
Opel Corsa 108


Medium Sedan/Hatch

Toyota Corolla/Quest/Auris 1480
Volkswagen Golf 7 483
Audi A3 319
Ford Focus 249
Mazda3 234
Hyundai Elantra 169
Volkswagen Jetta 157
Opel Astra 40
Renault Megane 22
Fiat Tipo 21
Kia Cerato 19


Compact SUV/Crossover

Ford EcoSport 851
Hyundai Creta 514
Mazda CX-3 298
Renault Captur 228
Toyota C-HR 161
Renault Duster 146
Honda BR-V 122
Honda HR-V 86
Opel MokkaX 64
Kia Soul 11


Medium SUV/Crossover

Toyota Rav4 641
Hyundai Tucson 435
Volkswagen Tiguan 371
Mazda CX-5 342
Ford Kuga 261
Nissan X-Trail 224
Nissan Qashqai 209
Renault Kadjar 197
Kia Sportage 62


Large SUV/Crossover (Sub-R900 000)

Toyota Fortuner 1033
Ford Everest 359
Toyota Prado 61
Jeep Grand Cherokee 42
Chevrolet Trailblazer 32
Mitsubishi Pajero 16
Toyota FJ Cruiser 14
Kia Sorento 11
Hyundai Santa Fe 8

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/july-sales-kia-and-hyundai-vs-segment-rivals-10632232
 
VW HAS JUST SCRAPPED THESE 18 DERIVATIVES IN SA

As many as 18 derivatives from the Volkswagen stable have been discontinued in South Africa this month.

All of them have been removed from VW SA’s official price list, although there may well be some run-out stock scattered around the country.

So, what’s no longer available? Well, Volkswagen has thrown in the towel on the slow-selling Golf SV, with the outgoing range having comprised five derivatives. From what we understand, the latest Touran is still not on the cards for a return to SA.

VW SA has also seen fit to scrap virtually all Beetle variants, bar the new R-Line limited edition model. That means the 1,2TSI Design, 1,2TSI Club, 1,4TSI Sport (in manual and auto) and Beetle Dune have all been discontinued.

The broader Polo range has not escaped the mass culling, either, with the 1,6 Trendline sedan no longer listed. The 1,4TDI version of the CrossPolo and the manual version of the Polo GTI have both also been discontinued. Bear in mind, of course, that the new, sixth-generation Polo range is scheduled to launch in SA early in 2018.

The Jetta line-up, meanwhile, loses the 1,4TSI Trendline and Highline variants, the 1,6TDI manual model as well as the previously range-topping 2,0TDI version. Lastly, the single manual version of the Volkswagen Scirocco (in 2,0TSI Highline guise) has been killed off locally.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/vw-has-just-scrapped-these-18-derivatives-in-sa/
 
ADIOS, ACTIVE TOURER: BMW SA KILLS OFF 2 SERIES MPV

BMW South Africa is no longer bringing the 2 Series Active Tourer into the country, with the MPV having been removed from the automaker’s official price list.

With the local MPV market continuing to shrink (Volkswagen recently pulled the plug on the Golf SV, too), BMW SA has opted to stop importing the front-wheel-drive Active Tourer.

The local BMW 2 Series Active Tourer range – which was introduced to South Africa in early 2015 to battle the Mercedes-Benz B-Class – had comprised seven derivatives, with three manuals and four automatic transmissions.

The line-up had started with the 1,5-litre three-cylinder 218i (100 kW/220 N.m) at R450 614 and ran through to the 2,0-litre four-cylinder 225i (170 kW/350 N.m) at R530 452, with 220i and 220d variants sitting in the middle of the range.

We’re unable to tell how sales of this model have tracked over the past couple of years, with BMW SA not reporting individual model sales statistics to Naamsa for the past few months, and before that reporting only an overall figure for the entire 2 Series range.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/adios-active-tourer-bmw-sa-kills-off-2-series-mpv/
 
FiestaST said:
ADIOS, ACTIVE TOURER: BMW SA KILLS OFF 2 SERIES MPV
Click to expand...

SA people want SUV's and Crossovers, not MPV's. The sooner the SA car companies stop trying to push MPV's the better. B Max, Golf SV and 2 Series Active Tourer are all failures proving this point....
 
FlashSA said:
SA people want SUV's and Crossovers, not MPV's. The sooner the SA car companies stop trying to push MPV's the better. B Max, Golf SV and 2 Series Active Tourer are all failures proving this point....
Click to expand...

How big is the boot on cars like the Golf SV and the BMW Active Tourer?
 
FlashSA said:
SA people want SUV's and Crossovers, not MPV's. The sooner the SA car companies stop trying to push MPV's the better. B Max, Golf SV and 2 Series Active Tourer are all failures proving this point....
Click to expand...

That's mos what I said.

I wonder how a EcoSport with sliding rear doors (ala B Max) would do with the mommy crowd?
 
Sumen said:
I'm pretty sure Alfa is not using the same engine from 20 years ago
Click to expand...
Some things never change :p

If Renault can have electrical problems in their cars for more than 2 decades I'm sure Alfa can still engineer their trademarked oil leaks into modern cars ;)
 
Questionable reply to this article

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/adios-active-tourer-bmw-sa-kills-off-2-series-mpv/

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Toyota SA reveals its future motoring plans for 2030

The biggest brand discusses trends and where the motoring landscape in South Africa is shaping into the future.

If you want to know what the South African motoring landscape might look like in 20 years from now, it makes sense to ask the biggest stakeholder. In the case of all things wheels in Mzansi, that’s Toyota.

South African institution

The technology and current product sourcing might be Japanese, but Toyota has the sense of being a South African institution too. It has an enormous production facility in Durban, which builds a great many bakkies, SUVs, taxis and not quite as many Corollas as planned – but also a huge saturation of dealerships.

If there is a single company which truly markets products in the segments which matter to South Africans, and provide acute metrics for market analysis, it’s Toyota. From Quantum taxi sales to Hilux bakkies, from Lexus hybrids to government departments purchasing Corollas for fleet use, Toyota’s sales and marketing data shows us the trendline to South Africa’s motoring landscape of 2030.

Hosting a panel discussion at Toyota headquarters in Kelvin, this week, the new CEO of Toyota South Africa, Andrew Kirby, was candid in his predictions for our motoring future.

Car sharing versus ownership

With many European and North American automotive markets reaching maturity, customers are reconsidering the role of a privately-owned car with respect to their financial wellbeing.

Owning a depreciating asset, which is only used two hours a day, and sits mostly idle, has become notably less appealing in Californian and German cities where public transport is nearly perfected and Uber ubiquitous.

In these markets, the automotive future could be one where one purchases credits in a car brand, and exchanges them for specific product use allocations. Perhaps you need a van for a weekend away. Or a coupe to impress at a social occasion. The South African market, though, is markedly different.

Toyota sees South Africa as being under-mobilised in terms of outright car ownership. There are a great many South Africans who aspire to own a car, but do not have the means and aren’t having the best possible public transport experience either.

Those factors generate tremendous future growth potential for new car sales. The vast distances driven in South Africa, makes car sharing an unlikely future scenario – and for many, owning a private car still represents the ultimate in autonomy of movement and freedom/flexibility of schedule.

Autonomous safety, not convenience

Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi have all, in the last year and a bit, released products to the South African market which have an untold level of autonomous driving technology. Cars which can ‘lock-on’ to traffic at highway speeds, and with the driving ceding braking and steering responsibility to the sensors, effectively drive autonomously.

The issue of fully autonomous driving, the promise of that seamless convenience where you board a vehicle which drives you in traffic where you wish to go, without any driver input, allowing the driver/passenger to work or be entertained in-car, is perhaps not a future scenario for South Africa.

Potential problems

An engineer by training, Kirby was curt about the potential problems of running true full level 5 autonomy on South African roads.

Kirby says: "For all the sensors and cameras to work, you need a lot of investment in road infrastructure, and an environment where there are no older technology cars on the road.

"If all the cars have similar levels of sensory technology, able to recognise each other, then it’s a harmonised system. It works. But in South Africa, we are still initiating first-time car owners each year, and the price point for autonomous technology cars, are way beyond what most would be able to afford. There is no wishing away of the older cars which serve a valuable purpose for their owners."

This doesn’t mean that South Africans won’t benefit at all from the global drive to autonomous driving technology.

Kirby adds: "There’s a massive, generally unrecognised, benefit – and that is safety. With more cars with radar/sonar guided cruise control and autonomous emergency collision avoidance braking, you can radically reduce accidents."

The themes for Toyota in the next decade and a bit is greater motorisation of South Africa, with an increase in driving safety due to the advancement in driver intervention systems which read the road and other cars on it – such as adaptive cruise control and lane discipline steering correction.

http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/Indu...s-its-future-motoring-plans-for-2030-20170810
 
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