Suzuki Auto South Africa (Suzuki SA) has broken through the 50 000-units-a-year sales barrier for the first time in its history.
The year in question is the company’s financial year, running from April, 2023, to March, 2024.
The numbers show that Suzuki sold 51 969 new cars in the 12-month period, setting a new all-time record for the brand and breaking through the 50 000 barrier for the first time.
“We missed the 50 000 mark with the narrowest of margins in the last financial year, when we sold 49 576 vehicles,” says Suzuki SA sales and marketing GM Henno Havenga.
The new sales record for the financial year concludes a busy year for the local arm of the Japanese brand.
The company started its financial year with the introduction of the new Grand Vitara, its flagship and the first hybrid Suzuki model.
The 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).
Suzuki is one of a handful of vehicle brands that have grown their sales and market share in a sharply declining local market.
In March this year, for instance, the new-vehicle market recorded a drop of 11.3% over the same month last year – its eighth month of consecutive decline.
“People are feeling the pinch of high interest rates and the underlying increase in the cost of living,” says Havenga.
“As Suzuki, we are working hard to offer a solution with attractive and reliable new vehicles that are affordable to purchase and maintain.
“These value-for-money offerings have proven popular with South Africans and have contributed to Suzuki’s continued success, despite the negative market conditions.”