Johannesburg – If you run a car company, making friends in the rental industry can be a good way to beef up your volumes. In fact, in most months, sales to rental companies make up between 10 and 15 percent of total vehicle sales.
But which vehicles do rental companies buy the most of?
Our list below, compiled with data sent to us by Lightstone Auto, shows the top sellers of 2016 and there are a few interesting trends at play. But first, let’s see how they rank.
1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 8606
2. Ford Fiesta – 5085
3. Toyota Corolla Quest – 4763
4. Volkswagen Polo – 4686
5. Toyota Etios – 3726
6. Chevrolet Spark – 2408
7. Renault Sandero – 2139
8. Kia Picanto – 1741
9. Ford Figo – 1657
10. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 1586
Spark, Quest and Fiesta reliant on rental volumes
The Ford Fiesta, in second place, is heavily reliant on rental sales, which accounted for 41.6 percent of last year’s total volume of 12 204 units. The Volkswagen Polo Vivo, which is the top selling passenger car overall and in terms of rental sales, is a bit less dependent with 29.8 percent of the 28 830 total having been snapped up by rental companies.
The most reliant on the rental industry, however, is Chevrolet’s Spark – with 54.9 percent of its total 2016 sales volume ending up as hire cars. Toyota’s Quest followed at 48 percent, with the remainder, we could only imagine, scooped up by Uber drivers.
And these were the best of the rental rest in 2016:
Hyundai i20 – 1562 units
Toyota Hilux – 1244
Renault Clio – 1197
Toyota Fortuner – 1030
Toyota Rav4 – 999
BMW 3-Series – 937
Hyundai Accent – 892
Toyota Avanza – 888
Kia Rio – 862
Hyundai i10 – 855
Ford Ranger – 828
Hyundai Tucson – 799
Ford EcoSport – 763
Datsun Go – 701
Nissan X-Trail – 701
Hyundai H1 – 687
Volkswagen Kombi – 658
Hyundai Grand i10 – 598
Nissan Almera – 584
Mercedes-Benz CLA – 545