Triton brings the challenge to competitors
The bakkie war has intensified with the local launch of Mitsubishi’s next-generation Triton, an evolution in the iconic bakkie’s 46-year legacy.
- Product News
- 21 November 2024
Suzuki received its final sales figures for the financial year from April 2023 to March 2024. It shows that 51 969 new Suzuki models were sold in the 12-month period, setting a new all-time record and breaking through the 50 000 barrier for the first time.
“We missed the 50 000 mark by the narrowest of margins in the last financial year, when we sold 49 576 vehicles. So it was with great joy that we were informed of our sales figure for the most recent financial year,” says Henno Havenga, General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Suzuki Auto South Africa.
The brand started its financial year in April 2023 with the introduction of the all-new Grand Vitara, its flagship and the first hybrid Suzuki model. The Suzuki Eeco panel van landed in the same month.
Other models joined the line-up throughout the year, including the Fronx and XL6 (August) and the Jimny five-door model (November). The larger Jimny made a guest appearance at Suzuki Auto South Africa’s Jimny Gathering, where 787 South African Jimnys set a new Guiness World Record for the most vehicles to switch on their lights at the same time.
Along the way, Suzuki and its dealers set several new monthly sales records. These include selling the 200 000th South African Suzuki in July 2023, breaking through the 5 000-a-month record in January with 5 249 sales and the Suzuki dealer network selling a record 4 488 vehicles to customers in February.
Suzuki is one of a handful of vehicle brands that has grown its sales and market share in a sharply declining market. In March, for instance, the new vehicle market recorded a drop of 11.3% over the same month last year, its eighth month of consecutive declines.
Suzuki Auto South Africa and its counterpart in India shared mutual congratulations and the end of their financial years, following news of the local record and a new cumulative production record for Maruti Suzuki in India.
Suzuki achieved accumulated automobile production of 30 million units in India by the end of March 2024, making it the country in the Suzuki world to reach this milestone the quickest. It took Suzuki in India 40 years and 4 months since the start of production to reach this record, which beats the previous record of 55 years and 2 months set by Suzuki in Japan.
The bakkie war has intensified with the local launch of Mitsubishi’s next-generation Triton, an evolution in the iconic bakkie’s 46-year legacy.
Unlike in the past, when dealerships primarily waited for customers to come to them, we now take a more proactive approach, bringing our vehicles directly to places where people gather, allowing them to experience the product first-hand, including offering test drives,” says Gerrie van der Kaay, Dealer Principal at Supergroup Dealerships Jetour Midrand.
JAC Motors added ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) to its X200 2.8L TDI 1.5-tonne single-cab, enhancing safety for both the crew and cargo. This latest upgrade complements the ABS-equipped X200 1.3-tonne double-cab targeted at organisations with labour-intensive crews.
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If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.
Bob Hooey
Leading used car trader, WeBuyCars, which listed on the JSE in April this year, is expanding its business focus to include third party sales and is rapidly expanding its vehicle supermarket and buying pods presence in South Africa.
The Isuzu Foundation, in collaboration with IRONMAN4theKidz, donated R250 000 to three Mossel Bay charities dedicated to uplifting vulnerable youth, families and individuals in need.
Hino South Africa has handed over four mobile offices to the Gauteng Government Roads and Transport Department, which are to be used as Smart Driving Licensing Testing Centres by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).