Johannesburg – We all see a fair number of Hyundais and Kias on the roads, but when it comes to vehicle sales numbers, there is a shroud of mystery as their distributor, now called Motus, doesn’t report monthly individual sales numbers for the two South Korean brands.
Thankfully the brands’ s figures are released retrospectively, so if we’re willing to live with the delayed gratification, it is possible to determine how popular these cars are in relation to their rivals. Local manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is equally guilty of this, but we’ll get to that another day.
For now let’s take a look at how Hyundais and Kias sold in 2016, according to data made available by Lightstone Auto. As you’ll see below, the most popular South Korean car in South Africa last year was the Hyundai Grand i10, selling an average of 548.4 units a month, followed by the Tucson, which actually led its segment at 516.6 units despite only having been launched in March. Its Kia Sportage cousin, which was only renewed at the end of the year, should see better numbers in 2017.
A- and Sub-B Segments
Volkswagen Polo Vivo28 830Toyota Etios12 768Hyundai Grand i10
6582
Kia Picanto
6037
Renault Sandero II5857Ford Figo 5482Hyundai i10
5267
Chevrolet Spark4386Datsun Go4169Volkswagen Up2602Toyota Aygo 2021Suzuki Swift2004Honda Brio1513Renault Kwid (Nov, Dec)1271Suzuki Celerio 605Tata Bolt575