Johannesburg - March turned out to be a fairly stable month in the motor industry, with overall vehicle sales having declined by just 0.2 percent over the same month last year.
Naamsa commented that consumer sentiment remained under pressure due to "high levels of indebtedness, sharp increases in energy and transport costs and e-tolling in Gauteng."
However, WesBank noted strong demand for finance and added that while the market was initially unsettled by the 0.5 percent interest rate increase in January, confidence has subsequently returned following the recent MPC meeting where a conservative approach was communicated with regards to future hikes.
According to figures released by RGT Smart, 55 363 new vehicles were registered during March, of which 5.0 percent were sold to government, 4.7 to the rental industry and 4.5 percent to corporate fleets.
While passenger car sales saw a 2.2 percent year-on-year decline, the light commercial vehicle sales picture improved by 3.7 percent over March 2013.
Export sales, meanwhile, registered a year-on-year decline of 11.2 percent to 24 660 units. However, the export situation is expected to improve once the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class comes on stream. SA's top exports for the month were the VW Polo with 6198 units, Toyota Hilux (5889) and BMW 3 Series (5584).
On the local sales charts, Toyota dominated by moving 11 688 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen (8800), Ford (6289) and Hyundai/Kia (6001).
50 TOP SELLERS - MARCH 2014
1. Toyota Hilux - 3415
2. VW Polo Vivo - 2553
3. Toyota Etios - 2364
4. Ford Ranger - 2162
5. VW Polo - 2125
6. Nissan NP200 - 1654
7. Toyota Corolla/Auris - 1437
7. Chevrolet Utility - 1437
9. Isuzu KB - 1432
10. Ford Figo - 1203
11. Toyota Quantum - 1180
12. BMW 3 Series - 1048
13. Mercedes C-Class - 891
14. Toyota Fortuner - 872
15. VW Golf - 812
16. Ford Fiesta - 695
17. Chevrolet Spark - 545
18. Audi A4 - 541
19. Renault Clio - 496
20. Renault Duster - 495
21. BMW 1 Series - 449
22. Nissan NP300 - 435
23. Audi A3 - 433
23. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 433
25. Nissan Almera - 419
26. Chevrolet Aveo - 411
27. Toyota Avanza - 374
28. Renault Sandero - 365
29. Ford Ikon - 360
30. Ford Focus - 348
31. Toyota RAV4 - 342
32. Ford Kuga - 341
33. VW Tiguan - 335
34. Chevrolet Cruze - 329
34. Nissan NV300 taxi - 329
36. Nissan Micra - 322
37. VW Amarok - 318
38. Mazda3 - 316
39. Land Rover Discovery - 314
40. Nissan Juke - 305
41. Ford EcoSport - 289
42. Honda Brio - 288
42. Mercedes A-Class - 288
42. VW Jetta - 288
45. Mazda BT-50 - 264
46. Toyota Yaris - 243
47. Mercedes E-Class - 239
48. Suzuki Swift - 235
49. Jeep Compass - 227
50. Nissan Qashqai - 207
*Hyundai/Kia supply delayed quarterly figures and thus could not be included in this list.