2020 was less than stellar for automakers with sales figures dipping to industry lows in decades. VWSA, consisting of Volkswagen and Audi hit back in 2021 with a combined market share of 22.3% which means one in every four passenger vehicles sold locally was an offering from the German brands.

The group delivered 71 577 vehicles in total during 2021 with Volkswagen Passenger Cars making up the bulk of the sales with 60 959 units sold while premium marque Audi managed 5 712 and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 4 906 in the year. This signaled a whopping increase of 8 095 vehicle sales from the year prior. Robert Cisek, VWSA Chairman and Managing Director further said that they were especially proud of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand holding a dominant 20.1% market share, which is the highest of all Volkswagen markets worldwide. 

The popular models within their portfolio during the year were expectedly the cheap Polo Vivo which retained the crown of South Africa’s most popular passenger car selling 21 877 units. The Polo based T-Cross sold 7 516 units and despite limited Caddy supply during the year, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles still sold 4 906 units of the versatile van. 2022 will be big for VW with many new models entering the lineup and bolstering their existing sales even further. 

Things were expectedly more difficult in the premium categories that Audi competes in with 2021 signaling a consumer buy-down trend as a result of the pandemic. Despite this, Audi achieved an 18.4% market share with 5 712 sales throughout the year and the compact Q3 boasting 900 of those and cementing itself as the brand’s best-selling model. Audi is also looking to a more sustainable future by launching their fully-fledged e-tron range this year; however if electric is not your preference, we will also be receiving the fuel-burning RS3 hyper hatch and sedan as well as the facelifted S8 sedan…