By Khulekani Dumisa

Suzuki is enjoying some of its best monthly sales ever and its growth appears to be nowhere nearing slowing down anytime soon.  Last month the local arm of the Japanese firm sold a new all-time record of 2,397 vehicles in March according to Naamsa. In doing so, tzhe Japanese vehicle manufacturer broke their month-old record by nearly 12% and improved on its March 2020 sales performance by 92%.

Booming dealers

Importantly, Suzuki’s network of 72 dealers set their own new retail record of 1,962 vehicles in March. One should keep in mind that Suzuki broke through the 2 000-mark for the first time in October 2020, when its sales of 2,032 vehicles included retail (dealers) and bulk sales (rental and government sales).

A force to be reckoned with

Naamsa reports that Suzuki now has a passenger vehicle market share of 8.54% and a total industry market share of 5.24%. It means that Suzuki is still outperforming the general vehicle market, despite a better-than-expected month for most vehicle brands.

“Suzuki set several sales records on its way to recording its best year ever in 2020, despite the hard lockdown and a general disruption in vehicle imports owing to the pandemic. This was followed in 2021 with two new sales records in February and March, with the focus on sustainable growth in the coming months,” says André Venter, divisional manager of sales and marketing at Suzuki Auto South Africa.

A Swift and S-Presso month

The Suzuki Swift remained the best-selling model and sold 749 units, while the S-Presso was delivered to 527 new customers in March. The new Suzuki Vitara Brezza also had a good start with 390 sales.

Cautiously optimistic

Naamsa reported on 1 April that the passenger vehicle market improved by 24.2% in March compared to the same month in 2020. This was of course the first month of lockdown restrictions in 2020 and it implies that the next few months will outperform its comparative monthly sales of the previous year significantly.

“It will take a long time before South Africa’s new vehicle market is back to pre-pandemic levels. We are committed to work with our dealer network to ensure that waiting lists are as short as possible, that our pricing, service plan and warranty support remain of the best in class and that our parts availability is undisrupted,” says Venter.