PoloDriver

In a surprise twist, the Polo Vivo has lost its best-selling car in South Africa crown to the fifth-generation Polo 6R, according to the latest sales figures released by NAAMSA. Topping the charts in an almost unbroken run since its launch in March 2010, the entry-level Volkswagen Polo Vivo ‘only’ sold 2324 units in August 2013, whereas the Polo 6R found 2625 new buyers. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as a three and five-door hatchback starting from R165,300, in addition to the four-door Polo Sedan which has an entry price of R172,200. The hatchback range includes GTI, BlueMotion and CrossPolo variants.

Volkswagen is clearly doing something right. No doubt the enhanced specification of Match and Match Edition models has helped, but the Polo remains in the top 10 best-selling cars in the UK sales chart, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The evergreen supermini was the UK’s eighth best-selling car in July 2013, which although a fall of one place when compared to June, doesn’t alter the Polo’s seventh best-selling car in the UK for the year-to-date placing.

The SMMT has significantly raised its forecast for 2013 new car registrations, predicting sales will reach 2.216 million units, 8.4 per cent ahead of 2012. There were strong performance across the private, fleet and business market sectors, and the market saw the 17th successive monthly rise in July, growing 12.7 per cent to 162,228 units. ‘Strong business and consumer confidence in July saw the new car market continue to rise, posting double-digit growth. Recently, we’ve seen a range of economic indicators point to improving conditions and our raised sales forecast emphasises how positively we view the rest of 2013,’ said Mike Baunton, SMMT Interim Chief Executive. The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during July 2013 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 9089 (72,129, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 7229 (54,904, 2nd)
3 Vauxhall Astra: 6165 (39,896, 4th)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 5166 (37,297, 5th)
5 Vauxhall Corsa: 4986 (51,133, 3rd)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 4312 (31,424, 6th)
7 BMW 3 Series: 3070 (24,658, 8th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 3001 (26,288, 8th)
9 Nissan Juke: 2943
10 Fiat 500: 2768


(The 2013 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the BMW 1 Series in 10th place with 22,437 units sold.)

According to the latest figures released by NAAMSA, the Polo Vivo was once again the top-selling car in South Africa. A total of 3574 Polo Vivos found new homes in July 2013. Yet again, its younger brother, the Polo 6R followed it, with 2618 units sold putting it in second place. The new Golf GTI also added to Volkswagen Group South Africa’s success – 477 examples were sold in its first month to market. Total Golf sales in South Africa last month were 908. When all brands were tallied up, Volkswagen Group South Africa sold 10,613 units in July, capturing a 24.4 per cent market share.

‘The market results reflected the on-going positive demand for new vehicles. They were further boosted by a relatively higher number of selling days in July as well as the rental car demand which accounted for 15.4% of the passenger car market,’ said Mike Glendinning, Director Sales and Marketing at 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 R111,900 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R161,100 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. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the four-door Polo Sedan.

The Polo is still finding favour with UK car buyers according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The small Volkswagen was the UK’s seventh best-selling car in June 2013, and correspondingly, the seventh best-selling car in the UK for the year-to-date. The SMMT reported that new car demand is up 10 per cent in the first half of 2013, with private buyers driving growth. New car registrations passed the one million mark last month, growing 10 per cent in the first half of 2013 to 1,163,623 units.

June’s growth was the 16th consecutive monthly registrations rise, growing 13.4% to 214,957 units. Motorists switching to more fuel-efficient cars have helped reduce average new car CO2 emissions to 129.1g/km in first half of 2013, down 3.7 per cent on a year ago. Mike Baunton, SMMT Interim Chief Executive said: ‘June secured the 16th month of UK market consecutive growth, a clear indicator that manufacturers and dealers are delivering desirable new products with tangible cost savings from the latest fuel-efficient technology coupled to a wide variety of very competitive finance offers.’ The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during June 2013 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 11,332 (63,040, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 9128 (47,675, 2nd)
3 Vauxhall Corsa: 8868 (46,147, 3rd)
4 Vauxhall Astra: 7074 (33,731, 4th)
5 Volkswagen Golf: 5875 (32,131, 5th)
6 BMW 3 Series: 5432 (21,588, 8th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 4703 (23,287, 7th)
a8 BMW 1 Series: 4678 (20,007, 10th)
9 Nissan Qashqai: 4507 (27,112, 6th)
10 Peugeot 208: 3649 (20,815, 9th)

Once again, the Polo Vivo was the best-selling car in South Africa last month, according to figures releases by NAAMSA. The locally-built entry Volkswagen sold 15,135 units, and has been the top-selling car in South Africa for the last three years. The current Polo 6R was once again in second place, shifting 11,987 examples. Both cars are made at Volkswagen Group South Africa’s Uitenhage factory. The exceptional market performance means that Volkswagen Group South Africa maintains its leadership position in the 2013 passenger car market, with a large market share of 23.8 per cent.

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 R111,900 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R161,100 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. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the four-door Polo Sedan.