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 4844 units or 9.4 percent to 56 253 vehicles in August 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 August? Well, Volkswagen somehow managed to stretch its lead even further, with the Polo Vivo and Polo again claiming the first two spots. The Toyota Corolla jumped up to third, while the Toyota Etios surprisingly dropped down to fourth...

The BMW 3 Series moved up to fifth, and the Toyota Fortuner dropped to seventh. The Toyota Yaris came from nowhere to grab sixth, while the Fortuner held steady at seventh (though it dropped in sales). Ford's Figo dropped from fifth to eighth while the Chevrolet Spark and the Nissan Micra rounded out the top ten, knocking out the Chevrolet Aveo and Renault Sandero respectively.

Check out the full top ten list below, with the figure in parentheses the sales number from the previous month. See July's figures HERE.

Passenger vehicles for August 2012:

1. VW Polo Vivo - 3714 (up from 3449)
2. VW Polo - 2355 (down from 2459)
3. Toyota Corolla/Auris - 1911 (up from 1551)
4. Toyota Etios - 1563 (down from 1753)
5. BMW 3-Series 1200 (down from 1280)
6. Toyota Yaris - 1096 (new entry)
7. Toyota Fortuner - 961 (down from 982)
8. Ford Figo - 877 (down from 1176)
9. Chevrolet Spark 822 (new entry)
10. Nissan Micra 773 (new entry)

Also read:

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