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Picture courtesy: (TopGear South Africa)
(The Post News)– For the first time, a Japanese-based Suzuki stretched the local arm to become the second-best-selling car brand in South Africa. It attains the second dethroning of Volkswagen, and Toyota remains the first best-selling car brand. There is a higher purchase price for Suzuki than ever in South Africa. The likes of Swift and Ertiga models have played a significant role. Swift is commonly used as a private car, while Ertiga is a family car used as public transport and is sometimes hired for special occasions.
According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, “new car sales have increased by 2.2% year-on-year to 38,172 units, which is an increase of 814 units,” in the April 2024 report. The statistics revealed that the best-selling car brands in South Africa are Toyota, Suzuki, Volkswagen Group (Audi is part of VW Group), Ford Motor Company, and Hyundai Automotive South Africa. Audi and VW are from the same dealership; hence, their sales add to the Volkswagen Group’s overall sales.
The likes of content creator Phil Mphela have promoted the brand on YouTube for the past two years. “There is no YouTuber who has covered and embraced the brand like he’s done; he deserves a couple of millions,” said Kagiso on X (Twitter), replying to Mphela’s comment. The brand is commonly liked for its affordability, low fuel consumption, and easy maintenance. It is now everywhere in the country, like Polo when it was fashionable and called ‘nami ngiya sebenza’, because everyone bought them for a start.“
Toyota survived by designing the Rumion, which replaced the Avanza and is in line with the Ertiga. They are now competing in local transportation in townships and rural areas,” said Polelo Mabilu, a salesperson in Midrand. The reality is that Volkswagen is getting expensive, and the economy in South Africa is tight. Netizens expressed that a middle-class individual cannot pay a VW installment, have a house, feed all the kids with medical aid, and still have savings.
Suzuki has proved that it has excellent growth and aligns well with South Africans. The competition is still tight as Chinese vehicle manufacturer Chery introduced the Omoda in March. Suzuki has now broken the record as the first Japanese model to be the second best-selling car brand in S.A.
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