Each month, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) releases the figures for new car sales.

And each month we'll bring you the top ten sellers in the passenger car segment.

For the record, Naamsa reported that aggregate industry sales improved by 5999 units or nearly 21 percent to 34 820 vehicles in May 2012.

Bear in mind that Hyundai and Kia do not submit their figures, and that from January 2012, Mercedes-Benz SA said it would not report its detailed sales data for the time being, after a global directive from its parent company, Daimler AG. MBSA does, however, still provide a single total sales number for passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

So, what made the list in May? Well, Volkswagen is still on top, again claiming the first two spots with its Polo Vivo and Polo. But the big news is the early success of the Toyota Etios, which was launched to the public on 21 May 2012. Despite being on the market for just a third of the month, the Etios managed to sell 1315 units, putting it at third on the list. A sign of things to come, perhaps...

The Toyota Corolla and Auris fell from third in April to seventh, while the Ford Figo managed to hold onto fourth spot. The Fiesta broke back into the top ten, with the Chevrolet Aveo and Renault Sandero both being knocked down the list.

Check out the full top ten list below, with the figure in parentheses the sales number from the previous month — in this case, April 2012 (see April's figures HERE).

Passenger vehicles for May 2012:

1. VW Polo Vivo - 2789 (up from 2256)
2. VW Polo - 2343 (up from 1766)
3. Toyota Etios - 1315 (first month on sale)
4. Ford Figo - 1107 (up from 977)
5. Toyota Fortuner - 1021 (up from 855)
6. BMW 3 Series - 859 (up from 797)
7. Toyota Corolla/Auris - 815 (down from 989)
8. VW Golf - 624 (up from 519)
9. Toyota Yaris - 618 (up from 570)
10. Ford Fiesta - 598 (up from 442)

Also read:

• 2012's 3 best-selling cars thus far
• 10 cheapest new cars in SA
• 6 tips for buying a new car