THE VOLKSWAGEN brand sold a combined 32 603 vehicles in the first six months of this year, 6 824 more vehicles than it sold during the same period last year.
The Volkswagen brand leads the South African passenger car market with a market share of 24.4 percent.
“The automotive industry has been severely affected by the worldwide shortage of semi-conductor chips and vehicle transportation-related challenges this year, so to have increased our sales from last year is a remarkable achievement,” said Volkswagen Passenger Cars head of dealer network Steffen Knapp.
The locally manufactured Polo Vivo was South Africa’s best-selling passenger car with 11 560 units sold in the first six months of the year.
The Polo, also manufactured at Volkswagen’s plant in Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) and exported to international markets, was the second-best-selling passenger car in South Africa, with 9 045 units sold in the same period.
The Volkswagen vehicle portfolio in South Africa would be bolstered by the introduction of new models in the second half of the year, he said.
The new Tiguan was recently launched on the local market. Retail of the Golf 8 GTI, which was Volkswagen’s most anticipated launch this year, will start in September. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will introduce the new-generation Caddy in October.
BUSINESS REPORT