PoloDriver

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.

According to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for April 2012, the Volkswagen Polo held its position as the seventh best-selling car in the UK, and the third best-selling supermini, behind the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa. Once again the sixth best-selling car for 2012 so far with 15,743 sales, its larger Golf sibling sold only 21 units more last month, placing it one position ahead in the SMMT’s chart. April again saw a rise in supermini registrations, while overall, registrations rose 3.3 per cent to 142,322 units, the largest 2012 increase.

‘A strong April new car market has raised confidence across the UK motor industry with registrations increasing 3.3 per cent,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘We are seeing a steady increase in consumer confidence with growth in private demand, boosted by the arrival of a raft of new products. SMMT has increased its full year forecast to 1.95 million units, putting the market marginally ahead of 2011, indicating a period of relative stability.’ The top 10 UK best-selling cars in April 2012 and for the year overall (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 8780 (42,170, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 6184 (29,934, 2nd)
3 Ford Focus: 5491 (29,933, 3rd)
4 Vauxhall Astra: 4684 (19,578, 5th)
5 BMW 3 Series: 3737 (13,685, 8th)
6 Volkswagen Golf: 3600 (22,394, 4th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 3579 (15,743, 6th)
8 Nissan Qashqai: 2990 (15,481, 7th)
9 Vauxhall Insignia: 2751 (12,082, 9th)
10 Fiat 500: 2600

(The 2012 year-to-date top 10 best-selling car absent from April’s sales figures is the Peugeot 207 selling 11,957 units in tenth place.)

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.

The Volkswagen Polo has jumped one place up the UK top 10 best-sellers list. According to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for March 2012, the small Volkswagen was the seventh best-selling car last month with 7748 sales, three places behind its larger Golf relative. March was a bumper month for supermini sales, with half the cars in the best-sellers list of a smaller persuasion. Even the misguided youth-orientated advertising campaign for the new Toyota Yaris seems to have worked positively, with the model chasing the Polo’s tyre tracks in eighth.

March’s 372,835 units bettered the SMMT’s forecast for the month by some 20,000 units or almost 6 per cent, and looks set to beat the 18 per cent share of total annual volumes by 1.4 per cent. Supermini registrations rose in both March and Q1, to account for 39.1 per cent and 37.7 per cent respectively of the market. ‘The important March new car market performed above expectations rising 1.8 per cent to 372,835 units. Domestic demand for new cars is showing signs of recovery with private buyers increasingly returning to take advantage of a wide range of excellent products and, this month, the new 12-plate,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. The top 10 UK best-selling cars in March 2012 and for the year overall (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 22,667 (33,390, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 17,271 (23,750, 3rd)
3 Ford Focus: 15,086 (24,442, 2nd)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 11,945 (18,794, 4th)
5 Vauxhall Astra: 9965 (14,894, 5th)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 8487 (12,491, 6th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 7748 (12,164, 7th)
8 Toyota Yaris: 6973
9 Peugeot 207: 6948 (10,221, 8th)
10 BMW 3 Series: 6472 (9948, 9th)

(The 2012 year-to-date top 10 best-selling car absent from March’s sales figures is the Mercedes-Benz C Class selling 9485 units in tenth place.)

Volkswagen Group South Africa has maintained its top position in the passenger car market with total sales of 8239 units and a market share of 21.1 per cent in March 2012. Once again the Polo Vivo was the country’s top seller, with the fifth-generation Polo 6R claiming the runner-up spot. ‘Volkswagen Group South Africa is delighted to finish the first quarter of 2012 as the leader of the passenger car market. Our consistent performance has been spearheaded by the market dominance of the Polo Vivo (2846 units) and Polo (2355 units) – strong brands that were again the top two sellers in March,’ 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 a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the four-door Sedan.