PoloDriver

In a repeat of recent months, the Polo Vivo maintained its grip on the South Africa new passenger car market, once again taking the best-seller top spot for May 2012, selling 2789 units. And, once again, the fifth-generation Polo was right behind, with 2343 examples finding new homes. A total of 4909 Polo 6Rs were also exported, further boosting the production tallies. Volkswagen Group South Africa was the leader in the passenger car market overall, too, with total sales of 8260 units and a market share of 23.7% in May. The Polo’s closely-related Audi A1 cousin sold 101 units last month in the South African market, having had its official launch at the same time.

‘Volkswagen Group South Africa maintained its dominance in the passenger car market for the fifth consecutive month in 2012. Polo Vivo was the best-selling brand in the country with 2789 units. At the same time, Polo was the second best-selling Brand in the passenger car market with 2343 units. Both models are still market leaders in the A0 segment, in spite of the new models being introduced in the most competitive segment in South Africa,’ explained Mike Glendinning, Director, Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa. In May 2012, a total of 34,820 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa, an increase of 18% when compared to April 2012 and a growth of 20.8% against the same period in 2011.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R106,100 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R153,200 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.