January 2018’s aggregate new vehicle sales in South Africa came in at 45 888 units or a decline of 8,9% year-on-year, according to Naamsa.

As always, it’s also interesting to take a look at what’s happening in terms of individual model sales. We’ve already examined the figures and picked out the 10 best-selling bakkies for the month, and now it’s time to do the same with the passenger vehicle market (also, check out the worst-selling passenger vehicles).

Of course, one must bear in mind that certain automakers – such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW – disclose only aggregate sales statistics. Kia and Hyundai, however, thankfully started releasing their individual model sales figures a few months ago, which makes the picture a little clearer.

So, what happened in the first month of 2018? Well, the outgoing Volkswagen Polo Vivo held on to first place, while Toyota’s combination of the Corolla, Auris and Corolla Quest (the brand reports an overall figure rather than individual model sales) likewise stayed steady in second.

The Toyota Etios, meanwhile, climbed three places to third, with the Toyota Fortuner retaining its fourth position. The Hyundai Grand i10 entered the table to grab fifth, which saw the Volkswagen Polo – transitioning over to a new generation – drop one to six.

The Toyota RAV4 moved up a single place to seventh, while the Volkswagen Golf made an appearance in eighth. The Kia Picanto managed to hang on to ninth place, while the Toyota Avanza snaffled the final spot. The Renault Kwid, meanwhile, fell out of the top 10 after its best-ever month in December 2017.

Other bits and bobs

Unusually, there were no Ford products in the top ten in January, with the EcoSport (660), Figo (619) and Fiesta (542) just missing out. The Everest added 336 units for the Blue Oval, while the Kuga managed 81.

Honda’s top performer for the month was the Ballade (200), while the Brio and Jazz each fell a single unit short of three figures. Alfa Romeo suffered a disappointing start to the year, with the Giulia and Stelvio managing just five units apiece.

Hyundai again enjoyed strong showings from its Tucson (400) and Creta (380) crossovers, while the i20 (317) and Accent (283) also contributed gamely. Jaguar Land Rover’s best-seller for the month was the Discovery Sport (100), with the Range Rover Velar a single unit behind (and the Discovery four behind that).

The Rio (469) continued its strong run for Kia, while the Sportage weighed in with 168 units. The CX-5 (377) was top of the charts for Mazda, with the CX-3 (372) close behind and the Mazda2 (279) and Mazda3 (248) also coming to the party.

The Datsun GO (489) was again the best-seller from the Nissan group, while the Almera (404), Micra (395) and X-Trail (353) also contributed. Opel’s top performer was the Corsa (87), while Peugeot improved to 123 units in total, 50 of which came courtesy of the 3008.

The Renault Clio (559) and Sandero (325) again impressed, while the Duster fell to 154 units. The outgoing Swift (363) showed no signs of slowing down for Suzuki, while the Ignis added a further 174 units. Sales of Toyota’s C-HR climbed to 218 units.

The Tiguan (438) enjoyed a strong month, while the Up! added 283 units for Volkswagen. The Audi Q5 (109) also broke three figures, while the V40 (44) was again Volvo’s top seller.

See the top ten table below (and have a look back at December 2017’s figures here):

South Africa’s 10 best-selling passengers cars of January 2018:

1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2 862
2. Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest – 2 196
3. Toyota Etios – 1 519
4. Toyota Fortuner – 1 318
5. Hyundai Grand i10 – 1 134
6. Volkswagen Polo – 1 027
7. Toyota RAV4 – 871
8. Volkswagen Golf – 805
9. Kia Picanto – 793
10. Toyota Avanza – 665

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Original article from Car