Year of ups and downs for manufacturers
INDUSTRY NEWS/ Mark Smyth investigates how the different car brands fared in SAs sales wars
In a tough year, SA’s newvehicle market was down 1% in 2018, but within that, passenger car sales dropped 0.8% and light commercials (including bakkies) dropped a significant 2.4% compared to 2017.
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) said the decline reflected the weak macro-economic environment, pressure on consumers’ disposable income and fragile business and consumer confidence. The increase in interest rates in November didn’t help.
The biggest passenger car players, Toyota and Volkswagen, saw increases in figures and there were some big increases for smaller players too, like Suzuki and Volvo.
But there were big losers too. The year was not kind to Ford or Mercedes-Benz, nor for some brands in the Fiat Chrysler Group, while Indian marque Tata saw the biggest decline.
Here’s how each manufacturer fared in 2018 new passenger-car sales:
Audi continued to sit well behind its premium German rivals. The A3 was its best performer, accounting for nearly a third of sales.
Fiat has split off its Abarth numbers in the sales figures, which seems odd given that it could do with all it can get to bolster the Fiat numbers, although sales of the Abarth 500, 595 and 124 Spider totaled just 34 . which was its top seller. Numbers were down for the locally built Everest SUV, its secondbest seller, while the new EcoSport was third. Many of Ford’s models declined, but the Kuga rose.
Honda sales went up to 7,530 units in 2018. It needs to regain some ground that it has lost over the past few years. It introduced the new Civic Type-R.
Hyundai sales were up and was the third-biggest player in the passenger-car market, with sales of 32,288. Its biggest seller remains its smallest, the Grand i10, which more than doubled its sales in the year. The Kona crossover was introduced late in the year.
The introduction of the new E-Pace saw 740 sold, more than double that of the larger F-Pace . It also sold four of the new allelectric I-Pace, most likely demonstrators ahead of its introduction to the market. Sales were down to 768 . Grand Cherokee was its top seller, followed by the Wrangler.
Kia sales dipped slightly to 15,941, about half that of its sister company, Hyundai. Its top seller was the diminutive Picanto, at over 9,000 sales. Market share for the Rio declined to 1.2%. Sales of the Sportage increased and 23 units of its first sports GT, the Stinger hit the streets.
Range Rover sales continue to remain steady. The top seller is the Sandton favourite, the Range Rover Sport, which saw an increase in sales to account for nearly a quarter of all Land Rover sales in 2018.
Lexus introduced a new flagship LS model in 2018 as well as the sporty LC but sales further down the line-up remain mediocre at best with 823 Lexus models leaving showrooms. Its bestseller was the NX SUV.
Mahindra sales declined last year but it continues to sell its crossover and SUV in decent numbers. Its top seller was the KUV with sales up to 851 units.
Sales dropped in spite of the introduction of the Levante S petrol model, a far better option than the diesel. Pricing is a key issue that has moved all but the most passionate Maserati fans away from the brand.
Mazda has been on the up since its separation from Ford and it increased its sales figures again in 2018. The CX-5 was its top seller, followed by the CX-3 crossover and Mazda3.
In spite of a number of requests to Mercedes-Benz for a breakdown of its figures, the company declined to respond, as it has for a number of years now. What we do know is that in 2018 it lost its position as the number one premium car brand in SA to BMW, in spite of the introduction of significant new models like the latest-generation A-Class.
Mitsubishi continues to sell a few of the ageing Pajero while its superb new Pajero Sport’ ssales more than doubled.
Nissan will be happy with a significant increase in sales to 15,103 units. The corporate fleet favourite, the Almera, was its top seller. The introduction of the new Micra saw a big jump in sales for the supermini. The old Micra, rebadged as the Micra Active’s sales were up there too. The Qashqai and X-Trail continued to be strong sellers too.
Opel SA saw its sales drop, even in a year where it introduced new models like the Crossland X and Grandland X. The Corsa was the top model, accounting for over a third of all Opel’s sales but there were big declines for Astra and Mokka X.
The French marque is still hanging in there, albeit by the tips of its French manicured fingertips. Sales increased to over 1,000 units, the biggest mover being the 3008 crossover.
Porsche celebrated its 70th anniversary and enjoyed a good 2018, boosted by the latest-generation Cayenne.
The Kwid accounted for a massive 9,695 of a total 25,433 sales. Its Clio and Sandero continue to do well and its crossover and SUV models, the Duster and Captur, are still enjoying reasonable success.
Sales were up in 2018 at just over 1,000 units with its XV crossover its top seller, followed by the Forester.
Another record year for Suzuki SA , with sales up 37.8%. The new Swift the Jimny accounted for over a third of sales. Sales of the award-winning Ignis more than doubled and the new Dzire was introduced as the sedan version of the Swift.
Tata is a tiny blip on the market radar and seems to have given up hope of ever being more.
Toyota passenger car sales were slightly up. As usual, the company groups old Corolla, new Corolla and Auris together in its sales figures, which is a little unfair, and together they were its top sellers. Second to the Corolla trio was the Fortuner at more than 13,000 sales, with the Etios in third.
The top-selling passenger car brand in SA again, particularly the Polo. The new Polo, and the old one, the Polo Vivo, together held a massive 40.5% share of their segment and 14.2% of the overall passenger car market. They also accounted for nearly 77% of VW SA’s passenger car sales. The Tiguan SUV increased its sales, but numbers dropped for the Golf,
It was a big jump in numbers for Volvo, with its sales of 2,679 vehicles. This is mainly due to the introduction of the new XC40 small crossover. But the top seller for the Swedish marque was its ever-popular XC60, which sold 741 units.