South Africa's sinking sales snowball gathered momentum in January 2014, according to figures compiled by Naamsa and released by RGT Smart this week.
A total of 53 025 vehicles were sold during the month, representing a 6.8 percent decline over January 2013. Passenger car sales fell by 7.0 percent on the back of subdued demand from the rental industry, which albeit still accounted for 18.1 percent of car sales. Meanwhile light commercials were down 6.6 percent and heavy trucks by a worrying 19.5 percent.
RAY OF HOPE?
However, WesBank CEO Chris de Kok pointed out that it's not all doom and gloom just yet: "Rental demand was 11.5% down on January last year, having some impact on outright volumes. But dealer sales were 2.1% ahead of January 2013 indicating that consumer confidence remains reasonably positive."
"We don't believe the interest rate hike towards the end of last month will negatively affect the demand for credit or impact sales in the short to medium term due to the lag effect," De Kok added.
BUYING DOWN
However, WesBank did note that the average transaction price for vehicles was down by 4.9 percent in January, pointing towards a general "buy-down" trend.
Nonetheless, Naamsa expects further head winds this year as a result of "above inflation average new vehicle price increases, the slowdown in the economy and, more recently, rising interest rates.”
EXPORTS DOWN
Vehicle export sales plummeted by 19.7 percent, although we would put this down to the run-out phase of two of our big exports, the Mercedes C-Class and Toyota Corolla, which registered export sales 0 and 62 units respectively. Both will be replaced by new models in the coming months, which will once again be built locally and exported.
SALES NUMBERS
Toyota took the overall local market lead in January with 10 659 sales and Volkswagen followed closely with 10 064 units moved. AMH/AAD, which distributes Hyundai and Kia among others, came third with 6022 units sold but the group continues to withhold individual model sales figures.
Ford continued its march to dominance in January, posting a 48 percent year-on-year sales increase to 5584, placing it ahead of GMSA/Isuzu Trucks (5112) and Nissan (2958).
50 TOP SELLERS: JANUARY 2014
1. VW Polo Vivo - 2965
2. VW Polo - 2813
3. Toyota Hilux - 2772
4. Toyota Etios - 2250
5. Ford Ranger - 1656
6. Ford Figo - 1446
7. Toyota Corolla/Auris - 1395
8. Chevrolet Utility - 1332
9. Isuzu KB - 1271
10. Nissan NP200 - 1171
11. BMW 3 Series - 1107
12. Chevrolet Spark - 1101
13. Toyota Quantum - 1095
14. Toyota Fortuner - 826
15. Ford Fiesta - 745
16. VW Golf - 732
17. Mercedes C-Class - 731
18. Renault Clio - 686
19. Audi A3 - 623
20. Ford EcoSport - 525
21. Toyota Avanza - 493
22. BMW 1 Series - 477
23. Toyota RAV4 - 452
24. Nissan NP300 - 440
25. Audi A4 - 378
26. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 348
27. VW Amarok - 345
28. VW Jetta - 340
29. Ford Kuga - 335
30. Chevrolet Cruze - 330
31. Mercedes A-Class - 317
32. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 309
33. Toyota Yaris - 301
34. Renault Duster - 276
34. Renault Sandero - 276
36. VW Tiguan - 266
37. Nissan Micra - 253
38. Land Rover Discovery - 242
39. Jeep Compass - 231
40. Mercedes E-Class - 225
41. Nissan Juke - 223
42. Audi A1 - 222
43. Ford Focus - 215
43. Chevrolet Sonic - 215
43. Mercedes CLA - 215
46. Audi Q3 - 204
47. Honda Brio - 203
48. Range Rover Sport - 200
49. Mazda3 - 198
50. Honda CR-V - 195