PoloDriver

Round six of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup on the 4-5 August saw Shaun La Réservée dominate the weekend, taking both wins at the Phaksia Freeway. His breakthrough event, La Réservée won the first race from the front row of the grid. He was followed across the line by Devin Robertson and Kelvin van der Linde, while his second finish line team mates were Dewald Brummer in second, and Robertson again, one place behind. Brummer had much to celebrate, too, with a fifth place in race one to add to his race two runner-up position, as well as a third place overall.

Van der Linde meanwhile fought with Jordan Pepper during race one, and the pair fought until the finish line, van der Linde just staying in front to hold Pepper back – the gap between the pair was just 0.001 of a second. With 34 identical Polo Vivos on the grid, the action came thick and fast, with the leading pack of drivers jostling very closely for the sought-after points-scoring positions. Defending champion Roberson concentrated on solid finishes – a second and a third place earned him valuable points to close in on 2012 leader van der Linde.

The 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Volkswagen Polo Cup single-series championships run in China, Europe and India. Just as in those official Volkswagen series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen series, as many as 35 drivers regularly race in technically identical, 2.0-litre 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racers.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)
2 Devin Roberson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)

Race 2
1 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)
2 Dewald Brummer (8: Horne Hydraulics)
2 Devin Roberson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)

Overall standings
1 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)
2 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
3 Dewald Brummer (8: Horne Hydraulics)

Volkswagen Group South Africa is celebrating once more, as the Polo Vivo was again named the top-selling car in South Africa. With 3499 units sold in July 2012, the Polo Vivo led the market – a familiar story. The latest Polo 6R was also popular, with 2459 examples sold. The Volkswagen Group South Africa also maintained its top position in the new passenger car market, reporting total sales of 8689 units last month. During July 2012, a total of 37,844 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa.

‘Volkswagen Group South Africa is pleased to start the second half of 2012 in a top position in the passenger car market. Polo Vivo continues to be our top performer and in July it was once again the best-selling brand in South. Polo was the second best-seller in the passenger car market. Both brands have been market leaders in the A0 segment for the past seven months in spite of the introduction of many new models in the most competitive car sales segment in the country,’ said Mike Glendinning, Director, Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa. The Polo Vivo was the top-selling brand in the South African passenger car market from January to June 2012 with 16,139 units.

In related news, Volkswagen South Africa’s engine plant in Uitenhage has received an export order for 12,000 engines from China. The factory is scheduled to produce 107,200 engines in 2012, of which 50,200 engines are for the locally-built Polo 6R and Polo Vivo models. Of the remainder, 57,000 engines will be produced for three export markets, namely India, Mexico and China – Volkswagen Group South Africa’s biggest engine export market.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R106,100 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R153,200 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.

Once again the Polo Vivo and new Polo have dominated the South African new passenger car market, in sales figures released for June 2012. The sixth consecutive month of doing so, the entry-level Polo Vivo sold 2633 units, while 2326 Polo 6Rs managed to find homes. In addition, Volkswagen Group South Africa reported total sales of 7754 units, equating to a market share of 21.6 per cent. During June 2012, a total of 35,918 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa, an increase of 3.2 per cent when compared to the reported sales in May 2012 and a growth of 14 per cent when compared to the same monthly period in 2011.

‘Volkswagen Group South Africa ended the first half of 2012 in a top position in the new passenger car market. In June, Polo Vivo was again the best-selling brand, and Polo was the second best-seller. Both brands maintained their leadership positions in the A0 segment in spite of introduction of new models in the most competitive segment in the country,’ said Mike Glendinning, Director, Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R106,100 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R153,200 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.

In a repeat of recent months, the Polo Vivo maintained its grip on the South Africa new passenger car market, once again taking the best-seller top spot for May 2012, selling 2789 units. And, once again, the fifth-generation Polo was right behind, with 2343 examples finding new homes. A total of 4909 Polo 6Rs were also exported, further boosting the production tallies. Volkswagen Group South Africa was the leader in the passenger car market overall, too, with total sales of 8260 units and a market share of 23.7% in May. The Polo’s closely-related Audi A1 cousin sold 101 units last month in the South African market, having had its official launch at the same time.

‘Volkswagen Group South Africa maintained its dominance in the passenger car market for the fifth consecutive month in 2012. Polo Vivo was the best-selling brand in the country with 2789 units. At the same time, Polo was the second best-selling Brand in the passenger car market with 2343 units. Both models are still market leaders in the A0 segment, in spite of the new models being introduced in the most competitive segment in South Africa,’ explained Mike Glendinning, Director, Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa. In May 2012, a total of 34,820 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa, an increase of 18% when compared to April 2012 and a growth of 20.8% against the same period in 2011.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R106,100 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R153,200 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.

Volkswagen Group South Africa has once again seen its small car stars light up the market, with the Polo Vivo and Polo 6R dominating their segment last month. Continuing the market dominance shown in recent months, the Polo Vivo was once again the top-selling passenger car in South Africa with 2256 units sold, while the latest fifth-generation Polo shifted 1766 examples. Overall, Volkswagen Group South Africa has kept its top position in the passenger car market with total sales of 6461 units and a market share of 21.9 per cent.

‘Volkswagen Group South Africa maintained its top position in the passenger car market for the fourth consecutive month in 2012. Our two top-selling Brands, Polo Vivo and Polo continued their market dominance in their respective segments,’ said Mike Glendinning, Director, Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa. ‘In spite of the passenger car market decline, the encouraging fact is that the selling rate of the new cars per day in April decreased by only 10.5 per cent when compared to the selling rate in March, when the seasonal analysis of the selling rate would have indicated an expected 13 per cent decline,’ he added.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 104bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R106,100 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R153,200 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.