The Department of Trade and Industry has released the figures for the new car sales in South Africa for the month of November which saw the Ford Ranger dethrone the Toyota Hilux of title “best-selling bakkie” and also took the crown as the best-selling vehicle in the country.

Ford Ranger – top selling LCV in November

The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) figures for November 2014 reveal that since its introduction about three years ago, the Ford Ranger has finally reached the top with 3054 sales – kicking off the Toyota Hilux (2897) which has been at the number one spot in the LCV segment for a very long time.

A range of new and updated Ranger bakkies are currently available, including the locally built limited-edition Ford Ranger Odyssey which offers a 2.2-litre Duratorq turbodiesel engine that delivers 110 kW, black 17-inch wheels and the XL-Plus’ updated componentry that help it tow a load of 3500 kg.

Commenting on their success, Mark Kaufman, Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Service, FMCSA said: “We’re thrilled that South Africans continue to show such confidence in Ford’s products, especially our locally produced Ranger. We are exceptionally proud of our Ranger’s achievement as it was South Africa’s best-selling pick-up for the first time and topped 3000 unit sales for the second consecutive month.”

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A drop in sales

Further, the Association reported that aggregate industry sales rose 0.9 percent to 51 098 vehicles in November 2014, when compared to the same period a year ago. However, compared to October 2014 total industry sales of 59 380 in November reflected a decline of 13.9%.

Naamsa expects the performance of the automotive sector for the balance of 2014 and into 2015 to remain under pressure for the foreseeable future, particularly at dealer level, thanks to subdued economic growth and above-inflation vehicle price increases.

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