VW leads SA passenger car market for Q1 2021
The Volkswagen brand sold over 17 000 units in the first three months of 2021 The Volkswagen brand in South Africa recorded 17 010 (15 505 Passenger Car and 1 505 - Commercial Vehicles) sales in the local vehicle market in the first quarter of 2021.
“The South African automotive industry has started to recover from the effects of the hard lockdown in March last year which halted production and sales of vehicles. As Volkswagen we are pleased to have defended our leadership of the passenger car market in the first quarter of this year. Our performance was boosted by strong dealer sales as well as sales to government and rental markets with the latter posting 3 408 units in the first three months of this year,” said Steffen Knapp, head of the Volkswagen Passenger Car brand in South Africa.
Volkswagen leads the passenger car market with a share of 20.6%. With 15 505 sales recorded in the first quarter of 2021, the best sales month for the Volkswagen Passenger Car brand was February 2021 where 5 497 vehicles were sold. The Volkswagen Polo Vivo is still the country’s bestselling passenger car with total sales of 6 643 in the first quarter; an average of 2 200 sales a month. The T-Cross, is the Passenger Car brand’s best-selling imported derivative with 2 325 units sold in the first three months of 2021. The T-Cross is now South Africa’s best-selling compact SUV.
The Commercial Vehicles brand increased sales by 9.6% to 1 505 units year-on-year. The best sales month for the brand was March 2021, with 629 units sold. The Amarok double cab bakkie, which is also South Africa’s most powerful bakkie, was the best-selling derivative for the brand with 567 units sold in the first three months of 2021.
The Volkswagen plant in Uitenhage also posted strong export figures during the first three months of 2021. To date, the Uitenhage plant has exported a total of 26 630 Polos to both left and right-hand drive markets. “Volkswagen South Africa continues to make a positive comeback in the local car market. Supported by our 109-strong Dealer Network, we have continued to lead the passenger car market for the past
12 years; our rental and government sales continue to outperform targets and our digital retail strategy is also gaining momentum,” concluded Knapp.
2021 is a momentous year for the Volkswagen brand. Not only will Volkswagen’s T SUV model range be bolstered with the launch of the new Tiguan in the middle of the year and the Tiguan Allspace in the third quarter, the highly anticipated Golf 8 GTI will also be launched in the South African market from the second quarter of 2021.
With sales of the Amarok 190kW double cab bakkie in full swing, the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand will also introduce the fifth generation of the best-selling Caddy in the local market, from the third quarter of this year.