Johannesburg - The downward spiral continued in October with South Africa's vehicle sales totalling 54 244 units, a worrying 8.6 percent down on the same month last year according to Naamsa.
The biggest decline was in passenger vehicle sales, which fell 10.9 percent year-on-year to 36 175 units, while the LCV market took a 4.1 percent knock. The bigger rigs were a mixed bag, with medium commercials gaining 11.2 percent and heavies falling by 6.1 percent.
Much of the trouble lies in a decline in government and rental industry spending, which declined 25.7 percent and 23.8 percent year-on-year respectively, while sales through the dealer channels were down just 2 percent and still accounted for 80.9 percent of the total market.
However disposable income among consumers still remains under pressure and Wesbank points out that higher levels of household debt and more stringent lending rules mean that fewer consumers are qualifying for vehicle finance.
WesBank Motor CEO Simphiwe Nghona further pointed out that low business confidence levels are causing corporates to delay replacing assets such as cars.
Vehicle exports were also down in October, by 13.9 percent, although Naamsa tells us not to read to much into this as the Ford Ranger's change of model cycle is distorting this number and the new model is expected to ramp up export sales in the coming months.
On the local charts, Volkswagen's Polo Vivo continued to dominate the overall market with 3170 sold, while the Ford Ranger narrowly ousted the Toyota Hilux (2740 versus 2639) although the latter is now entering run-out phase.
Other notable performers were the Chevrolet Utility, up from 1382 the previous month to 1947 in October and Renault Sandero (649 to 920).
OCTOBER 2015 - THE NUMBERS
TOP COMPANIES
1. Toyota - 11 156
2. Volkswagen - 8883
3. Ford - 6657
4. AMH/AAD - 5571
5. General Motors - 5301
6. Nissan - 3873
7. Mercedes-Benz - 2714
8. Renault - 2050
9. BMW - 1680
10. Mazda - 873
TOP 100 REPORTED SALES*
1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 3170
2. Ford Ranger - 2740
3. Toyota Hilux - 2639
4. Volkswagen Polo - 2320
5. Chevrolet Utility - 1947
6. Nissan NP200 - 1845
7. Toyota Corolla - 1565
8. Toyota Etios - 1478
9. Isuzu KB - 1376
10. Toyota Quantum - 1256
11. Toyota Corolla Quest - 1119
12. Ford Fiesta - 1005
13. Ford EcoSport - 968
14. Renault Sandero - 920
15. Ford Figo - 835
16. Toyota Fortuner - 746
17. Nissan NP300 Hardbody - 595
18. Renault Clio - 575
19. Volkswagen Golf - 535
20. BMW 3 Series - 509
21. Toyota Rav4 - 506
22. Toyota Avanza - 489
23. Volkswagen Amarok - 447
24. Audi A3 - 431
25. Datsun Go - 418
26. Chevrolet Aveo - 415
27. Ford Focus - 374
28. Renault Captur - 357
29. Ford Kuga - 355
30. Volkswagen Up - 329
31. Audi A4 - 295
32. BMW 1 Series - 270
33. Mazda3 - 269
34. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 261
35. Nissan NV350 Taxi - 258
36. Mazda2 - 247
37. Chevrolet Spark - 239
38. Mazda CX-5 - 217
39. Nissan Qashqai - 214
40. Suzuki Swift - 212
41. Chevrolet Cruze - 210
42. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 210
43. Volkswagen Jetta - 191
44. Opel Corsa - 190
45. Toyota Yaris - 183
46. Land Rover Disco Sport - 177
47. Audi A1 - 169
48. Renault Duster - 168
49. Honda Jazz - 158
50. Ford Everest - 154
51. Honda Ballade - 146
52. Volkswagen Tiguan - 140
53. Honda HR-V - 139
54. BMW 2 Series - 137
55. Land Rover Discovery - 136
56. Toyota Prado - 136
57. Nissan X-Trail - 134
58. Opel Mokka - 130
58. Dodge Journey - 130
60. BMW X5 - 128
61. Audi Q7 - 127
61. Honda Brio - 127
63. Tata Super Ace - 124
64. BMW 4 Series - 115
65. Chevrolet Captiva - 110
65. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 110
65. Toyota Aygo - 110
68. Mitsubishi ASX - 106
69. BMW X3 - 103
70. Land Rover Defender - 92
71. BMW X1 - 91
72. Honda Mobilio - 91
73. Mahindra Bolero - 90
74. Opel Adam - 88
75. Toyota Auris - 85
76. Audi Q5 - 80
77. Jeep Wrangler - 79
77. Mahindra XUV - 79
79. Audi A5 - 78
79. Fiat 500 hatch - 78
79. Range Rover Sport - 78
82. Mazda BT-50 - 77
83. Audi Q3 - 76
84. Volkswagen T6 Kombi - 74
85. Fiat 500X - 70
85. Jeep Cherokee - 70
85. Jeep Compass - 70
85. Suzuki Celerio - 70
89. Volvo V40 - 69
90. Mini Hatch 5dr - 68
91. Nissan Navara - 67
92. Nissan Juke - 66
92. Nissan Micra - 66
94. BMW X4 - 63
94. Honda CR-V - 63
94. Jeep Renegade - 63
97. Nissan Almera - 62
98. Peugeot 208 - 61
99. Ford B-Max - 60
100. Range Rover Evoque - 59
*List excludes non-reporters such as Hyundai, Kia and GWM.
Source: Lightstone Auto
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