PoloDriver

The most prolific bestseller in South Africa since its launch in 2010, the Polo Vivo is set to become even more popular with the announcement that production of the entry-level model will take place in Kenya from late 2016. An agreement with a local partner has been signed by Volkswagen as it looks to further its engagement in the Sub-Sahara region. A training centre will also be established with the support of the German government.

New production agreement
The new production agreement was signed today by the Kenyan Government and Thomas Schaefer, Chairman and Managing Director of Volkswagen South Africa in Nairobi. President of Kenya H E Uhuru Kenyatta was also in attendance. Volkswagen sees the move as an ‘important step towards engaging further in new emerging markets’. There is a historian link, too, as VW assembled the Beetle in Kenya in the 1960s.

The new production facility will be in the city of Thikia near Nairobi. Importer DT Dobie has been chosen as the partner to jointly realise the Kenyan venture, and the new Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) factory will be Volkswagen’s third facility in South Africa after the main Uitenhage plant and a local facility in Nigeria. Up to 5,000 Polo Vivos are expected to be manufactured in Kenya per year from 2017.

‘Successful Polo Vivo’
‘We are taking the successful Polo Vivo from South Africa to Kenya to leverage the enormous growth potential of the African automobile market and participate in its positive development. This compact model is the best-selling car in the Sub-Saharan region – so it is the ideal entry model for the promising Kenyan market,’ said Schaefer. ‘With this move, we are strengthening the brand’s overall position in Africa and taking an important step towards expanding our commitment in the region,’ he continued.

President Kenyatta commented: ‘The investment by the Volkswagen Group in Kenya is a key milestone in my administration’s determined push to grow the manufacturing base and industrialised the nation.’

A local training centre to qualify production workers and provide further training will also be established and will focus on the needs of the Volkswagen production team. Later, it is thought that the centre will provide basic training for young people in the region to learn general industrial skills, increasing employment opportunities. One of Africa’s emerging markets, Kenya plays a prominent role among East African nations and with a GDP of US$63 billion.

South African top-seller crown
In related news, the Polo Vivo kept its South African top-seller crown for August 2016, with 2702 units sold. The model has topped the charts for the whole of 2016 so far, and for many years previously since it replaced the Citi Golf in 2010. Based on the revised ‘9N3’ Polo first introduced in Europe during 2006, the Polo Vivo is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines.

For more details on the Polo Vivo, visit the Volkswagen South Africa website.

According to the latest batch of registration figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) the Polo has risen one place in the August 2016 UK top 10 best-selling cars chart. Now in sixth place, an uplift of one position, the 1765 Polos were registered in the UK last month. In the year-to-date chart run-down, the small evergreen Volkswagen sits in seventh place.

In a repeat of many months past, the Ford Fiesta tops both charts: 4547 examples of the small Ford were registered during August, while a massive 76,370 registrations have been recorded in the first nine months of 2016. The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during August 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 4547 (76,370, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 2519 (46,145, 3rd)
3 Vauxhall Corsa: 2393 (50,355, 2nd)
4 Vauxhall Astra: 1931 (35,276, 6th)
5 Volkswagen Golf: 1855 (43,951, 4th)
6 Volkswagen Polo: 1765 (33,877, 7th)
7 Vauxhall Mokka: 1762 (27,545, 9th)
8 Kia Sportage: 1540
9 Ford Kuga: 1515
10 Nissan Qashqai: 1491 (39,674, 5th)

(The 2016 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the eighth-placed Mini and the tenth-placed Mercedes-Benz C-Class with 27,713 and 26,931 cars registered respectively.)

Volkswagen UK has announced new offers on the Polo range to tempt buyers, just as its is revealed that the car is still one of the best-selling cars in the country. The Polo is now available for only £139 per month via Retail Personal Contract Hire over 48 months, while customers who choose a Solutions Personal Contract Plan benefit from a deposit contribution of up to £1400 at 6.7 per cent APR representative. The offers are available for vehicles ordered by 30 September 2016 from participating retailers.

One year’s free insurance
Selected Polo models also receive one year’s free cover from Volkswagen Insurance, if ordered between 1 July 2016 to 30 September 2016 and registered by 10 January 2017. Participating drivers have to be 18 years or over while those choosing the Polo BlueGT and GTI models have a minimum age requirement of 25. Other eligibility criteria applies. The Polo range starts at £11,525: for comprehensive terms and conditions on all the new offers, visit volkswagen.co.uk or your local Volkswagen Retailer.

The Polo is once again one of the best-selling cars in the UK, according to the latest figures announced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Sitting in seventh place – a rise of one position – 4112 Polos were registered in July 2016, and it appears in the same position for the year-so-far best-sellers chart, too, where a total of 32,112 examples have been recorded. Once again, the Ford Fiesta tops both charts as it celebrates its fortieth anniversary.

The SMMT states that there was a marginal increase of 0.1 per cent for the month, with 1,599,159 new cars registered so far in 2016. Demand in the year-to-date is 2.8 per cent higher than for the same period in 2015. The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during June 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 7990 (71,823, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 5606 (47,962, 2nd)
3 Vauxhall Astra: 4939 (33,345, 6th)
4 Ford Focus: 4911 (43,626, 3rd)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 4527 (38,183, 5th)
6 Volkswagen Golf: 4519 (42,096, 4th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 4112 (32,112, 7th)
8 Vauxhall Mokka: 3321 (25,783, 9th)
9 Mercedes-Benz A Class: 3040
10 Mercedes-Benz C Class: 3015 (25,084, 10th)

(The 2016 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the eighth-placed Mini, with 26,533 cars registered.)

Continuing its sales success, the Volkswagen Polo has once again been named as one of the top 10 best-selling cars in the UK. According to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders (SMMT) for June 2016, the Polo was the eighth most popular car in the UK, with 4930 cars finding new homes. For the year-to-date, the Polo is at number seven, with 28,000 examples registered.

A popular choice
Although it is one place below its May 2016 position, it shows that despite the basic shape of the current fifth-generation Polo being unveiled in 2009, seven years on it is still proving a popular choice. This is borne out by the evergreen VW being named as the 2016 Supermini of the Year in the recent Auto Express Awards.

The Polo’s larger brother the Golf took fourth place in both the June and year-to-date figures, while the seemingly immovable Ford Fiesta was once again at the top of the charts with 11,357 cars registered last month and a staggering 68,833 units for the year-to-date. As the small Ford celebrates its 40th birthday in 2016, it remains the premier and most popular choice for the UK as a whole.

Best half-year performance
Other SMMT figures point to a 3.2 per cent rise in demand for new cars between January and June 2016, with 1,420,636 registrations – the best half-year performance ever recorded. Overall demand in June fell, though, with a small 0.8 per cent dip. The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during June 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 11,357 (68,833, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 8837 (42,356, 2nd)
3 Ford Focus: 6833 (37,715, 3rd)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 6775 (37,577, 4th)
5 Mini: 6284 (24,293, 8th)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 5832 (33,656, 5th)
7 Vauxhall Astra: 5628 (28,406, 6th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 4930 (28,000, 7th)
9 Vauxhall Mokka: 4356 (22,462, 9th)
9 Mercedes-Benz C Class: 4112 (22,069, 10th)

Once again, the Volkswagen Polo has made the top 10 best-selling cars in the UK sales chart. According to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders (SMMT) for May 2016, the Polo was the seventh most popular car in the UK, with 3845 cars registered. With 23,070 examples registered, the Polo is the sixth best-selling car for the year-to-date.

Rise in popularity
In a repeat of April, the Golf took the second place spot behind the Ford Fiesta, which has seen registrations top a staggering 52,476 units for the year-to-date. Interestingly, despite all the negative publicity, diesel cars saw a five per cent rise in popularity during May 2016, while petrol-engined cars saw a 0.6 per cent decline.

The UK new car market as a whole saw a 2.5 per cent increase in May, with 203,585 vehicles registered, the highest May total since 2002. In total, 1,164,870 cars have so far been registered in 2016. The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during May 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 8236 (52,476, 1st)
2 Volkswagen Golf: 5729 (30,802, 4th)
3 Ford Focus: 5664 (31,882, 3rd)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 4880 (33,519, 2nd)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 4684 (27,824, 5th)
6 Vauxhall Astra: 3882 (22,778, 7th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 3845 (23,070, 6th)
8 Mini: 3780 (18,009, 10th)
9 Mercedes-Benz C Class: 3566
10 BMW 3 Series: 3454

(The 2016 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the eighth-placed Audi A3 and the ninth-placed Vauxhall Mokka with 19,147 and 18,106 cars registered respectively.)