The Ford Puma is off to a good start in South Africa, selling a total of 143 units since it appeared in local showrooms two months ago.
Broken up across each month, the crossover sold 52 units during its launch month in September 2023, which it was able to nearly double to 91 units in October, making it one of the more popular choices in its segment.
A new contender
The Puma is a vehicle that Ford has gone back and forth over bringing to South Africa for several years, having launched it in markets like the United Kingdom in 2019.
The scales finally tipped this year, however, as the Blue Oval finally brought the compact SUV to our shores in two specifications with prices starting at R569,900 and R613,900.
Even at this price point, the Puma is ostensibly the brand’s new entry-level passenger vehicle, as the last two years have seen the discontinuation of more affordable options like the Figo, Fiesta, Focus, and EcoSport in South Africa.
It’s likely for this same reason that the company decided to finally bring in the Puma to help bolster its local roster, as Ford’s only passenger models consist of the Ranger-based Everest SUV and the prestigious but exclusive Mustang.
At its current retail value, the Puma is competing in South Africa’s premium crossover segment – something which itself played a part in the company’s pricing decision, as a spokesperson from Ford recently confirmed to TopAuto that the rand’s exchange rate and the market value of the crossover’s contemporaries were the main determinants of its final price tag.
In this regard, the compact SUV appears to be performing rather well, as Naamsa’s automotive sales data for October shows that Ford sold 91 Puma units – very much in line with the sales of its segment peers.
You can see a breakdown of the October sales of the crossovers in the Ford Puma’s price bracket in the table below:
- Honda HR-V – 10 units
- Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross – 10 units
- Mazda CX-30 – 17 units
- Toyota C-HR – 27 units
- Fiat 500X – 32 units
- Proton X50 – 51 units
- Audi Q2 – 81 units
- Hyundai Kona – 95 units
- Nissan Qashqai – 116 units
- VW T-Roc – 148 units
It remains to be seen whether or not the American automaker’s latest endeavor will be able to keep its momentum and become a staple of the South African car scene, but it’s clear that early adopters are willing to give the new Ford Puma a shot.
Keyword: How many R570,000 Ford Pumas have been sold in South Africa