VW bounces back: SA's top 10 selling car brands for May 2024

Source: Unsplash

Last month Suzuki did the unthinkable (not really) as it dethroned Volkswagen in second place, which was a first and a sign that economic headwinds have considerably swayed customer buying behaviour in the industry.

However, Volkswagen has hopped back into second place with 4,939 cars sold in May. These numbers include Audi sales as well. Trailing behind Volkswagen is Suzuki with 4,101 units sold. There's good reason to believe these two manufacturers will go toe to toe in the coming months.

In fourth place is Ford, which totalled 2,860 units. Coming in fifth is Korean car brand Hyundai with 2,185 cars sold.

Isuzu took the sixth spot this month selling 1,351 cars after placing seventh in April thanks to Chery. The Chinese auto manufacturer managed to tally up a respectable 1,609 figure in May and continues to impress on the local sales stage despite selling more in the previous month (2,009).

The Toyota Hilux was the best-selling bakkie for May, contributing significantly to the manufacturer's overall sales number | Image source: Motorpress

The last three spots are occupied by Nissan at eighth (1,522), GWM at ninth (1,205), and Renault at 10th (1,110).

The last five spots to make it the top 15 selling car brands in May 2024 belong to BMW (1,068), Kia (1,003), Mahindra (941), Stellantis (515), and Mercedes-Benz (408) respectively. For BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the numbers are Naamsa estimates.

Wesbank says the monthly figures released by Naamsa show that the new vehicle market declined by 6,137 units to 37,105 in May.

"The depressed result follows the blip of positivity in April (up 2,2% year-on-year), which in turn had followed eight consecutive months of negative growth. May sales were 957 units or 2,5% down on April," it said.

Top 10 selling car brands in South Africa for May 2024

1. Toyota - 8,795
2. Volkswagen - 4,939
3. Suzuki - 4,101
4. Ford - 2,860
5. Hyundai - 2,185
6. Isuzu - 1,351
7. Chery - 1,609
8. Nissan - 1,522
9. GWM - 1,205
10. Renault - 1,110