PoloDriver

In a repeat of June, the Polo was the best-selling vehicle during July 2014 in South Africa, according to the most recent tally of sales figures announced by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA).

Beating the Toyota Hilux once again, 3330 South African Polo 6Rs were sold last month. And, once again, the Polo perched atop the best-selling passenger car tables, too, outselling its cheaper Polo Vivo sibling by 443 units.

The latter is still selling remarkably well considering it is based on the facelifted version of the Mk 4 Polo, first launched in 2002.

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 R138,200 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R178,800 for the top 1.6 Polo Maxx, the 2013 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009.

A new version of the fifth-generation Polo (6R) is now available as a three and five-door hatch, in addition to the four-door Polo Sedan.

The Polo emerged as the best-selling vehicle during June 2014 in South Africa, according to sales figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA). 2994 South African Polo 6Rs were sold last month, 367 more than the Toyota Hilux.

The Polo sat at the top of the best-selling passenger car tables, too, outselling its cheaper Polo Vivo sibling by 357 units. In May 2014 it was the reverse – the Vivo sold 2467 units, while 2326 Polos found new owners.

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 R138,200 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R178,800 for the top 1.6 Polo Maxx, the 2013 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. A new version of the fifth-generation Polo (6R) is now available as a three and five-door hatch, in addition to the four-door Polo Sedan.

Once again the Polo proved popular for Volkswagen UK as it appeared in the country’s top 10 best-selling cars according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The figures for May 2014 show the Polo in eighth place with 3607 new cars finding homes. While not a rise, the small Volkswagen holds firm its position, appearing in the same place in the table for April. Once again, the Ford Fiesta was the best-selling car in the UK. It was good news for another Volkswagen model, too: the Golf sat in second place with 7134 examples sold.

The SMMT states that UK registrations rose 7.7 per cent to 194,032 units, the most in the month since 2004. The increase sees UK registrations pass the one million mark for 2014 so far. May 2014‘s uplift in sales also drives the UK new car market to 27 consecutive months of growth, breaking a record set in the late 1980s. The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during May 2014 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 9450 (58,940, 1st)
2 Volkswagen Golf: 7134 (31,596, 4th)
3 Vauxhall Corsa: 6536 (34,324, 3rd)
4 Ford Focus: 5824: 37,355, 2nd)
5 Vauxhall Astra: 5035 (26,062, 5th)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 4144 (20,834, 6th)
7 Audi A3: 3886 (19,223, 8th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 3607 (20,687, 7th)
9 Fiat 500: 2896 (17,509, 9th)
10 Vauxhall Mokka: 2801

(The 2014 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the BMW 3 Series with 16,246 units sold.)

In related news, motors.co.uk has recently announced the UK’s most popular used cars for April 2014. The Polo rounded out the top 10, with 2427 used examples changing hands, while the Golf was five places higher. In a refection of the new car sales charts, the Ford Fiesta was the best-selling used car according to the car trading website. Volkswagen was the third most popular brand.

April 2014 was another successful month for Volkswagen’s Polo in the UK sales charts. As the first drives of the refreshed model are published, buyers are still flocking to buy the current car. Last month 3449 Polos were sold according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). That puts VW’s evergreen supermini in eighth place in the top 10.

The SMMT reports that new car registrations rose 8.2 per cent in April to 176,820 units, the 26th consecutive month of growth. Volumes for the year-to-date reached 864,942, an increase of 12.5 per cent. Therefore, the SMMT has revised its 2014 market forecast from 2.3 million to more than 2.4 million registrations.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during April 2014 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 10,250 (49,490, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 6772 (31,531, 2nd)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 5302 (24,462, 4th)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 3949 (27,788, 3rd

5 Audi A3: 3754 (15,337, 8th)

6 Nissan Qashqai: 3753 (16,690, 7th)
7 Vauxhall Astra: 3562 (21,027, 5th)

8 Volkswagen Polo: 3449 (17,080, 6th)

9 Nissan Juke: 3053

10 Fiat 500: 2928 (14,613, 9th)

(The 2014 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the BMW 3 Series with 13,523 units sold.)

Even though full specifications for the refreshed model have been announced by Volkswagen UK, buyers are still flocking to buy the fifth-generation Polo. UK buyers bought 8306 examples of Volkswagen’s small car last month, no doubt buoyed by the introduction of the new ’14’ registration plate. That puts in seventh place in the UK top 10 best-selling cars chart, according to figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

New car registrations rose by 17.7 per cent to reach 464,824, a figure which was only bettered in March 2004 (466,954). Year-to-date tallies are up 13.7 per cent on 2013. Among the Polo’s contemporaries, once again the Ford Fiesta topped the top 10 table, with 25,753 units sold. The Vauxhall Corsa was third with 16,231 cars finding new homes. For the first time, the Toyota Yaris entered the UK’s best-sellers, coming in at number 10, selling 7438 cars.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during February 2014 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 25,753 (39,240, 1st)

2 Ford Focus: 16,680 (24,759, 2nd)

3 Vauxhall Corsa: 16,231 (23,839, 3rd)

4 Volkswagen Golf: 13,142 (19,160, 4th)
5 Vauxhall Astra: 11,359 (17,465, 5th)

6 Nissan Qashqai: 8858 (12,937, 7th)

7 Volkswagen Polo: 8306 (13,631, 6th)

8 Fiat 500: 8136 (11,685, 8th)

9 BMW 3 Series: 7782 (11,027, 10th)

10 Toyota Yaris: 7438


(The 2014 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the Audi A3 with 11,583 units sold.)