Volkswagen South Africa sold 32,603 ​​vehicles in the first half of the year – 6,824 more than in the same period of the previous year.

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand has sold 29,772 units so far this year, while Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles sold 2,881 units.

The Volkswagen brand leads the South African passenger car market with a market share of 24.4%.

The first half of last year was badly hit by tough lockdowns related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The automotive industry was badly affected this year by the global shortage of semiconductor chips and the challenges associated with vehicle transport, so it is a remarkable achievement to increase our sales compared to the previous year,” says Volkswagen Passenger Cars CEO Steffen Knapp.

“I would like to praise the Volkswagen dealer network, which accounted for over 70% of our sales in the first half of 2021.”

The locally manufactured Polo Vivo is South Africa’s best-selling car, with 11,560 units sold in the first six months of the year.

The Polo, also manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) and exported to international markets, is the second best car in South Africa with 9,045 units in the same period.

“The Volkswagen T-SUV model range, consisting of the T-Cross, T-Roc, Tiguan, Tiguan Allspace and Touareg, continues to develop well in the local market with 6,609 units sold in the first half of the year. “Notes Knapp.

“The T-Cross is the best-selling model in the A0 SUV segment and also our best-selling imported derivative, with 3,893 units sold in the first six months of this year, accounting for more than half of our SUV sales.”

With 908 units sold in the first half of 2021, the Amarok is Volkswagen’s best-selling model for Volkswagen commercial vehicles to date.

Volkswagen points out that its vehicle portfolio in South Africa will be strengthened in the second half of the year with new model launches.

The new Tiguan was recently launched in the local market, while retail sales of the Golf 8 GTI, which is Volkswagen’s most anticipated launch this year, begin in September.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles introduces the new generation of Caddies in October.