Suzuki SA has announced it has set an historic all-time sales record in SA, with the local arm of the Japanese automaker, for the first time, breaking the 50 000 sales figure for the April 2023-March 2024 financial year. During the financial year, the company sold 51 969 new Suzuki models.
This impressive feat comes to no surprise. With a product range comprising a host of popular models (such as the Swift, S-Presso, Fronx, and Jimny, to name but a few), Suzuki SA has become one of the best-selling car manufacturers in SA, with the firm finding a comfortable spot in the top three each month.
As a result, the company broke several monthly sales records. In January 2024, Suzuki SA broke the 5 000-units-sold sales barrier, with a total of 5 249 customers putting pen to paper for a new Suzuki. But that’s not all. The following month — in February 2024 — a record number of 4 488 Suzukis found homes through Suzuki SA’s dealer network.
But before we continue, let’s press rewind — to July 2023. In the sixth month of last year, Suzuki SA sold its 200 000th unit.
Suzuki isn’t breaking records on only local shores, though. Fast forwarding back to the present, during the April 2023-March 2024 financial year, Suzuki reached another milestone, with the firm producing a record number of 30 million units in India over a period of 40 years and four months.
“We missed the 50 000 mark with the narrowest of margins in the last financial year, when we sold 49 576 vehicles. So it was with great joy that we were informed of our sales figure for the most recent financial year,” said Henno Havenga, General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Suzuki Auto SA.
“Suzuki is one of a handful of vehicle brands that have grown their sales and market share in a sharply declining market. In March, for instance, the new vehicle market recorded a drop of 11.3 per cent over the same month last year, its eighth month of consecutive declines,” said Suzuki SA.
Havenga added: “People are feeling the pinch of high interest rates and the underlying increase in the cost of living … As Suzuki, we are working hard to offer a solution with attractive and reliable new vehicles that are both 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.”