PoloDriver

The Polo Vivo was once again South Africa’s top-selling passenger car in December 2011, according to figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA). In three and five-door hatchback and four-door sedan (saloon) configurations, the Vivo claimed the sales top spot with a total of 3060 sales. Last month also saw the the fifth-generation Polo record impressive figures, too, once again in second place, with 2114 units. The Polo 6R was also the biggest export model for Volkswagen South Africa. The sole producer of right-hand drive current generation standard and CrossPolo-trimmed models, its state-of-the-art Uitenhage factory exported 2372 units overseas last month.

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 R104,065 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R156,220 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2011 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The new fifth-generation Polo (6R) is also available as both a three and five-door hatchback in addition to the traditional four-door Polo Sedan.

The Polo’s popularity was unwavering during December 2011, as it sold 2742 units, making it once again the UK’s sixth best-selling car according to the last set of figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The UK industry body also released 2011’s overall sales figures this morning, and the Polo was nothing but consistent, ending the year in seventh place in the country’s top 10 best-selling cars chart, with 45,992 cars finding homes. It was a similar but more successful story for the Ford Fiesta; Uncle Henry’s now global supermini sold 5411 units in December, taking the top spot. It ended the year in similar style, selling 96,112 cars, and top of the UK sales chart.

The supermini segment remains the largest in the UK, with a market share almost unchanged on 2010 at 36.3%, while new car demand totalled 1,941,253 units in 2011, down 4.4% on 2010, but ahead of the 1.92 million forecast. Registrations in December 2011 fell by 3.7% to 119,188 units and the market was down 1.8% in quarter four, while diesel and alternatively-fuelled cars both took record market shares over the year. The SMMT also says that average new car CO2 emissions fell to a new low of 138.1g/km in 2011, down 4.2% on the 2010 level, and the Volkswagen Golf was the best-selling diesel model.

‘2011 proved to be a challenging year for the UK motor industry. Total new car registrations were slightly ahead of industry expectations at 1.94 million units, still down 4.4% on 2010,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘Weak economic growth will make trading conditions tough in 2012, but record numbers of new and updated models, significantly improved fuel efficiency and exciting new technologies will help to encourage consumers into showrooms. Business and consumer confidence will be the key to a successful year, so it will be important that government delivers on its growth strategy and helps to resolve instability in the Euro Zone.’ The top 10 best-selling cars in the UK for December 2011 and for the year overall (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 5411 (96,112, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 5258 (77,751, 3rd)
3 Vauxhall Astra: 4856 (62,575, 5th)
4 Ford Focus: 4047 (81,832, 2nd)
5 Volkswagen Golf: 4031 (63,688, 4th)
6 Volkswagen Polo: 2742 (45,992, 7th)
7 Mini: 2706 (35,845, 10th)
8 Nissan Qashqai: 2580 (39,406, 9th)
9 Vauxhall Insignia: 2494 (46,264, 6th)
10 Hyundai i10: 2411

(The 2011 top 10 best-seller absent from December’s sales figures, is the BMW 3 Series selling 42,471 units in eighth place.)

The Polo 6R ended 2011 with as much success as it enjoyed in both 2009 and 2010. European sales were up by 1.2 per cent in October 2011 (compared to same month the year before) and it ended the year by being the second best-selling car in Europe, behind its bigger brother, the Golf. The figures – released by industry body Jato on 20 December – speak for themselves. The Golf’s 2011 European sales tally was 449,882, while 329,891 Polos found new homes. Volkswagen’s Passat finished seventh, making the German manufacturer Europe’s most popular in 2011, with 1,550,036 cars sold. Ford was second, its popular Fiesta and Focus models accounting for almost 600,000 new car sales alone. The Polo (including its Vento saloon variant) was a similar success story in India last year, with Volkswagen reporting sales of 74,305 units for the January–December 2011 period.

Once again the Volkswagen Polo Vivo was the top-selling passenger car in South Africa last month, according to figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA). In three and five-door hatchback and four-door sedan (saloon) configurations, the Vivo claimed the sales top spot with a total of 2270 sales. November 2011 also saw the the fifth-generation Polo record impressive figures, too, once again in second place, with 1855 units. The Polo 6R was also the biggest export model for Volkswagen South Africa. The sole producer of right-hand drive current generation cars, its state-of-the-art Uitenhage factory exported 4421 units overseas last month from a total Volkswagen group-wide export figure of 4422 (a single solitary Mk 6 Golf made up the tally).

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 R104,065 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R156,220 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2011 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The new fifth-generation Polo (6R) is also available as both a three and five-door hatchback in addition to the traditional four-door Polo Sedan.

The latest batch of sales figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and it’s good news once again for the Volkswagen Polo. Climbing one place up the top 10 best-sellers chart, in November it was in sixth place, with a tally of 3306 units. It’s standing firm in the 2011 sales-to-date chart, in seventh place. While the supermini sector saw a modest fall in registrations recorded, the Ford Fiesta remains the UK’s best-selling car, with 6195 units finding homes last month. That’s a fair chunk of the supermini’s 34.6% of the new car market, up from 33.9% a year ago. The small Ford is also the best-selling car of the year so far (a title it has held for some time), shifting 90,701 units.

The latest set of figures released by the SMMT state that new car registrations are down just 0.9% in the last three months than at the same period last year, and that the closing figure for 2011 is expected to be 1.94 million units, exceeding expectations. Registrations in November at 134,027 units were down 4.2%. ‘While the November new car market saw a 4.2% dip, the fuel efficiency of new models broke all records with the average new car achieving 52.5mpg,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive.

‘Despite the Chancellor delaying the 3p rise in fuel duty, our cost of fuel is still among the highest in Europe, so customers will welcome the 29.3% improvement in new car fuel efficiency over the last 10 years, a demonstration of industry’s commitment to delivering good value to motorists.’ The top 10 best-selling cars in the UK for November 2011 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 6195 (90,701, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 5324 (72,493, 3rd)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 4924 (59,337, 4th)
4 Ford Focus: 4910 (77,785, 2nd)
5 Vauxhall Astra: 4518 (57,719, 5th)
6 Volkswagen Polo: 3305 (43,250, 7th)
7 Nissan Qashqai: 3724 (36,826, 9th)
8 BMW 3 Series: 2898 (40,212, 8th)
9 Mini: 2834 (33,139, 10th)
10 Mercedes C-Class: 2540

(The 2011 year-to-date top 10 best-seller absent from November’s sales figures, is the Vauxhall Insignia selling 43,250 units in sixth place.)