Suzuki became SA’s favourite passenger car brand in May

• Suzuki the best-selling passenger car brand overall
• Swift the most popular car with 1 764 units sold – a new record
• Suzuki Auto SA and its dealers set new records

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Suzuki Auto recorded a sales-jump of 630 vehicles from April to May and hit a new overall record of 4 331 new car sales.

The new record means that Suzuki was also South Africa’s favourite passenger vehicle brand in May, outselling every other vehicle marque and firmly establishing itself as the third largest manufacturer on the industry sales roster.

“As a company, our growth strategy over the years could be compared to that of bamboo. Bamboo spends its early years growing a strong root system that can support its stems. To the naked eye, it appears that it is not growing at all, but once it has established the right roots, the bamboo shoots into the sky at a rapid pace.

“Since opening our doors in South Africa in 2008, we have spent a lot of time, energy and money on establishing a strong dealer network, a healthy head office team and a large parts warehouse that can deliver on our brand promise of value for money and great customer service. Now, with a network of 81 dealers, we are seeing the strong growth that a firmly established root system can deliver,” says Henno Havenga, manager for auto dealer sales at Suzuki Auto.

Havenga congratulated Suzuki dealers after they broke through the 3 000-unit barrier in May with total retail sales of 3 100 units. Most of the remaining Suzuki vehicles were sold through its government, rental and fleet sales division, which recorded sales of 1 229 units.

To top the number of new records by the company, naamsa, the industry business council, reported that the Suzuki Swift was South Africa’s best-selling vehicle in May with sales of 1 764 units (including the Swift Sport). The S-Presso (783 units), Vitara Brezza (530 units), Jimny (428 units) and Ertiga (305 units) completed the list of five best-selling Suzuki models.

“The announcement of our new record and the new dealer sales record comes a few days before we celebrate the best-performing dealers at the 2021/22 Dealer of the Year Awards,” says Havenga.

“Every year the competition for the title as the Suzuki Dealer of the Year becomes fiercer as more dealers enter our Elite and Platinum tiers for high-performing dealers with exemplary customer service. This year is no different, and we look forward to announcing the top performers next week.”

Suzuki will launch its newest model – the 2022 Suzuki Baleno – in the first week of June. It will join other extremely popular value-for-money vehicles such as the Swift, S-Presso and the Super Carry workhorse on the showroom floors.

“The Baleno sets a new standard for value for money,” says Brendon Carpenter, Brand Marketing Manager of Suzuki Auto South Africa.

“With luxuries such as climate control, an infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as top-model features such as head-up display and a round-view camera system, we hope to set a new standard for the compact hatchback market and welcome even more people to the Suzuki family.”