How many VW Polos were sold in South Africa in 2022

A grand total of 14,212 VW Polos were sold in South Africa in 2022, making it one of the most prominent cars in the country.

The Polo has long been a staple of the South African motoring scene, regularly appearing in the top 10 on the monthly sales charts.

Locally produced at the automaker’s Kariega Plant in the Eastern Cape, the hatchback has been around since 1996 which has led to an incredible 2 million units being manufactured as of December 2022.

It is also a major vehicle export, as roughly 80% of the last 500,000 units produced at Kariega were shipped to more than 38 overseas markets.

South Africa’s most popular

Since its introduction, the Polo has undergone four different generations in South Africa, culminating in the launch of the latest model earlier this year, which currently has a starting price of R329,300.

The new Polo was only beaten out by its more affordable sibling – the Polo Vivo – for the title of Volkswagen’s most popular vehicle, as the Vivo managed to ship nearly 20,000 units this year.

Nevertheless, the small car was still 4,500 units ahead of the German brand’s third-favourite model – the T-Cross, which had 9,695 units make their way off the showroom floor.

It speaks to the influence that the Polo badge still has in South Africa given the rise of the crossover body type in recent years, which has gradually eaten into the hatchback’s market share.

VW alone launched four SUVs in the country in 2022 including the new Taigo, T-Roc, Tiguan Allspace, and Tiguan R, and altogether its T-series of SUVs now account for 30% of all its sales in South Africa, said the company.

The T-Cross and Taigo in particular compete in a very similar price bracket to the Polo, making it that much more noteworthy that the small car has retained the sales it has.

Within the hatchback segment itself, the Polo has stayed right up there as one of the country’s favourites despite steadily rising in price over the years. More recently, it has also had to contend against fierce competitors from the likes of the more affordable Suzuki Swift, Toyota Starlet, Renault Kwid, and Hyundai Atos.