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Ford South Africa sold 5 595 vehicles in March 2018, earning an overall market share of 11.4%. Ford retained its position as the third-best selling brand for the month, with a year-to-date share of 11.4% . Total new vehicle sales reached 49 233 units in March 2018, improving by 1.1% on the 48 698 vehicles sold in the corresponding month last year .
The new passenger car market gained 3.7% compared to March 2017 to end on 32 176 units . The light commercial vehicle segment continued its downward trend for the third month in a row. The 14 701 units sold reflected a drop of 2.3% against March 2017. 90.2% of the total sales were through the dealer channel, with 5.3% to the vehicle rental industry, 2.7% to fleets and 1.8% to government .
A total of 27 438 vehicles were exported from South Africa in March 2018, falling 8.1% compared to March last year.
“The sales results for March 2018 represented somewhat of a mixed bag for the industry. There was a strong pre-emptive buying trend ahead of the VAT increase and the hike in emissions taxes and import duties that came into effect on 1 April. This put a positive twist on the overall sales which are normally impacted by the reduced number of selling days.
Although the LCV market was down, local sales and exports for the Ranger have recovered after the completion of the Silverton plant upgrades, and we saw great results for the Everest, Kuga and Tourneo Custom,” Neale Hill, Director of Marketing, Sales and Service, FMCSA, said.
Ford Ranger
Following the completion of a R3-billion investment in expanding production capacity at Ford’s South African plants, Ranger sales reached the highest level in four months with 2 753 units sold in March 2018. Export volumes were also ramped up significantly, with a total of 6 151 Rangers shipped to markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Ford Everest
The Ford Everest continues making inroads into the extremely versatile and practical sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment, which is growing rapidly, both locally and internationally. The 559 units sold in March is the Everest’s highest figure for 2018, and matches its third-best result to date achieved in December last year.
Ford Tourneo Custom
Ford’s Tourneo Custom achieved an alltime record of 127 units in March, giving it back-to-back months of best-ever sales. Ford announced in March that the 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCi engine used in the European-sourced Transit and Tourneo Custom models will soon be produced at the Struandale Engine Plant, which also supplies engines for Ranger and Everest.
Ford Kuga
The new Ford Kuga enjoyed its best month to date since it was launched in September last year. The 119 vehicles sold in March follow the steady gains experienced during the first three months of 2018. A total of 81 units were sold in January, rising to 94 vehicles in February.
