According to the National Association of Automobile Manufactures of South Africa, Eastern Cape motor manufacturers captured 41 per cent of the total new car market in September 2002. Volkswagen was the market leader at 23.2 per cent. DaimlerChrysler led the heavy commercial vehicle sales, with a total market share of 28 per cent. The VW Golf/Jetta and the Mercedes C-Class both featured in the top five selling passenger cars. Delta’s Isuzu KB and the Opel Corsa Utility featured in the top five of the light commercial vehicles. New vehicle retail sales reported to NAAMSA for September 2002 came in at 30 654 units for South Africa - which is over five per cent up on September 2001. “September follows August as another relatively strong sales month with total new vehicle retail sales being the second best since February this year,” says Nigel Harris, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa's Director of Marketing and Sales. “Also, with an increase of nearly nine per cent over September 2001, we are particularly pleased with the performance of the light commercial vehicle market. “We remain optimistic that the current trend will continue, especially when we note that the market remains relatively healthy despite the recent interest rate increases. This is likely to continue with the increase in competitive new model launch activity expected to take place between now and the end of November," says Harris.