The VW Group ended 2023 as South Africa’s second-favourite carmaker, accruing a total of 67,456 sales during the year between the Audi and Volkswagen brands for an overall 13% market share.
If we remove the Four Rings from the equation, VW by itself brought in a still impressive 61,193 registrations across its 15 individual model ranges allowing it to comfortably hold on to second place ahead of Suzuki.
Over the 12-month period, the Polo Vivo was the German automaker’s undisputed volume leader being responsible for over 39% of all sales, followed by the standard Polo at 19% and the T-Cross at 11%.
These statistics were somewhat predictable, given that these are three of the brand’s most affordable vehicles and they reside in two of the country’s most popular vehicle segments.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Caravelle, Touareg, Kombi, and Transporter gained the fewest customers – each with a share of less than 1% – which was likely a result of being on the pricier end of the VW stable and appealing to a more niche slice of the population.
The detailed sales figures of all the VW vehicles on the market in 2023 are shown below:
| Model | Units sold | Share of total VW sales |
|---|---|---|
| Polo Vivo | 23,904 | 39.06% |
| Polo | 11,748 | 19.20% |
| T-Cross | 7,152 | 11.69% |
| Amarok | 3,348 | 5.47% |
| Polo Sedan | 3,338 | 5.45% |
| Tiguan | 3,308 | 5.41% |
| T-Roc | 2,218 | 3.62% |
| Caddy | 1,632 | 2.67% |
| Taigo | 1,451 | 2.37% |
| Golf | 949 | 1.55% |
| Crafter | 662 | 1.08% |
| Transporter | 578 | 0.94% |
| Kombi | 573 | 0.94% |
| Touareg | 182 | 0.30% |
| Caravelle | 150 | 0.25% |
A lot to look forward to
The upcoming year has a lot in store for enthusiasts of the People’s Car, including the debut of three new SUVs and the introduction of a new engine option for the sought-after Amarok.
VW has yet to confirm the exact dates but divulged that the facelifted Touareg and next-generation Tiguan will arrive within the first half of 2024, and that the upgraded T-Cross is making landfall before the end of the year.
The Touareg’s mid-life update brings several advancements to the fore such as a refined exterior design, the option to fit the IQ.Light HD Matrix light system with over 38,000 interactive LED bulbs per cluster, a modernised cabin with larger displays and a new operating system, and reworked suspension that improves comfort on the already-plush ride.
2024 VW Touareg
The 2024 T-Cross then underwent a similar treatment as its more premium stablemate, gaining cosmetic tweaks and improved standard equipment but staying largely the same under the skin as the current iteration of the crossover.
It wears a new grille and bumper; restyled fog lights; integrated LED headlights and daytime-running lights; and quirky LED taillight clusters.
Inside, a central touchscreen of between 8 and 9.2 inches is now standard, depending on the model, as well as a digital instrument cluster, multifunction camera system, and road sign recognition.
At launch, the new T-Cross will be offered in base, Life, Style, and R-Line trims; instead of the Comfortline, Highline, and R-Line hierarchy we have at present.
2024 VW T-Cross
The new Tiguan is the only next-generation VW product currently in planning for 2024, but as we have come to learn, this can change at a moment’s notice.
The popular SUV has been overhauled from the ground up to address all the shortcomings of the current model and then some.
Looks-wise, the new Tiguan takes cues from the manufacturer’s electric ID. cars boasting flattened LED headlights, a larger grille with openings in the bumper edges, side air curtains, a more pronounced shoulder line, a new LED lightbar on the tailgate, and redesigned alloy wheels up to 20 inches
Its kit is made up of the Digital Cockpit driver’s display, a central control panel of up to 15 inches with a new menu structure and graphics, a more advanced heads-up display, an innovative rotary controller for in-car functions, and a comprehensive suite of convenience and assistance abilities including a lane-keep system, lane-change assist, autonomous emergency braking, a rear-view camera, and dynamic road sign display.
VW further confirmed the upcoming Tiguan will be available with a range of front- and all-wheel-drive powertrains including turbo-diesel, turbo-petrol, mild-hybrid, and plug-in hybrid, depending on the market.
2024 VW Tiguan
In the second half of the year, VW is looking at bolstering the exclusively-diesel-powered Amarok family with a new petrol sibling, if it can negotiate the “price positioning” in time, it said.
The petrol block is intended to boost the appeal of the VW in the high-performance bakkie segment and will take the form of a 2.3-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged unit generating up to 222kW and 452Nm.
It will be combined with the automaker’s 4Motion all-wheel-drive system and 10-speed automatic gearbox and is expected to be available in the flagship Aventura and PanAmericana trim levels as an alternative to the 2.0-litre and 3.0-litre turbo-diesel mills with which they are currently delivered.
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