April was yet another bleak month for the motor industry, with only Toyota's new Hilux having any cause for celebration.
Even then it was a case of merely maintaining momentum, with 3221 sales in its second full month, versus 3273 in March, while the other usual front runners experienced far bigger declines. Ford's Ranger normally hovers around the 3000 mark, but fell to 2413 in April. Not long ago it was a given that Volkswagen's Polo and Polo Vivo ranges each sold to the tune of well over 2000 units a month, but April saw just 1517 and 1884 sold.
The overall market declined by 9.2 percent, compared to April 2015, and what makes this even more worrying is that this year had more selling days, given that last year's Easter holidays fell in April rather than March.
Passenger cars took the largest knock, with a 13.2 percent year-on-year fall, while light commercial vehicles were down just 0.1 percent, no doubt heavily cushioned by that pent-up Hilux demand. Medium commercial vehicle sales declined by 24.3 percent, with heavies falling 5.3 percent.
Exports were a large silver lining, however, rising by 39.2 percent compared to the same month last year, although to a great extent we can also thank the Hilux for that. 3928 of Toyota SA's new bakkies hit the seas last month, while Ford managed to export 5033 Rangers.
Naamsa expects local exports to remain buoyant for the remainder of this year, but the prospects don't look much better on the local sales front, according to the association.
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAID:
A glimmer of hope:“Above-inflation new vehicle price increases, estimated at between 12% and 15% plus for the year, would put further downward pressure on sales of new motor vehicles. Yet despite the short term unfavourable outlook, a major source of encouragement emanated from the further substantial improvement, for the third month in a row, in the Purchasing Manager's Index which at 54.9 signalled an expected improvement in business activity levels and manufacturing output over the medium term.” -Naamsa
Finance applications down:“WesBank's data shows that the demand for new vehicles has slowed notably. During April 2016 application volumes for new vehicles were down 7.1% compared to the same period last year, a figure that is exacerbated by sustained new car price inflation. During this past month the average new deal value was R287 000. This compares starkly to April 2015, when the average deal value was R257 000.” -Wesbank
Little reprive for now:“Current strain on car sales not likely to change materially in the short to medium term” -Absa
THE NUMBERS: APRIL 2016
Sales Channels
Dealerships: 91.1%
Corporate: 4.0%
Rental industry: 3.1%
Government: 1.8%
Top companies
1. Toyota - 8791
2. Volkswagen - 6262
3. Ford - 5473
4. AMH/AAD - 4001
5. GM/Isuzu - 3183
6. Nissan - 2229
7. BMW - 1512
8. Renault - 1381
9. Mazda - 1116
10. Honda - 605
Top 100 reported sales*
1. Toyota Hilux - 3221
2. Ford Ranger - 2413
3. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 1884
4. Volkswagen Polo - 1575
5. Toyota Quantum - 1148
6. Toyota Corolla/Quest/Auris - 1054
7. Isuzu KB - 1004
8. Ford EcoSport - 943
9. Chevrolet Utility - 930
10. Toyota Fortuner - 846
11. Toyota Etios - 785
12. Ford Figo - 605
13. Ford Fiesta - 536
14. Nissan NP300 Hardbody - 526
15. Nissan NP200 - 449
16. BMW 3 Series - 411
17. Renault Clio - 388
18. Volkswagen Golf - 366
19. Datsun Go - 361
20. Renault Sandero - 350
21. Ford Focus - 325
22. Toyota Avanza - 321
23. Renault Duster - 320
24. Audi A3 - 318
24. Mazda CX-5 - 318
26. Toyota Rav4 - 291
27. Mazda CX-3 - 274
28. Volkswagen Amarok - 268
29. Mazda3 - 260
30. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 246
31. Nissan NV350 Taxi - 244
32. Volkswagen Jetta - 227
33. Volkswagen Caddy - 219
34. Nissan X-Trail - 218
35. Audi A4 - 209
36. BMW 1 Series - 206
37. Opel Astra - 202
38. Suzuki Swift - 190
39. Ford Kuga - 179
40. Chevrolet Spark - 177
41. Mazda2 - 176
42. Volkswagen Up - 164
43. Ford Everest - 162
44. Renault Captur - 161
45. BMW 2 Series - 150
46. Nissan Qashqai - 149
47. Volkswagen Tiguan - 148
48. Honda Jazz - 142
49. BMW X1 - 140
50. Honda Mobilio - 139
51. Renault Kadjar - 138
52. Audi A1 - 135
52. Toyota Aygo - 135
54. Toyota Yaris - 131
55. Toyota Land Cruiser 200 - 128
56. Jeep Renegade - 121
57. Opel Corsa - 119
58. Honda Ballade - 116
59. Ford Mustang - 114
60. Audi Q3 - 108
61. Chevrolet Cruze - 106
62. BMW X5 - 104
63. Nissan Almera - 102
64. BMW 4 Series - 101
65. Tata Super Ace - 100
66. Opel Mokka - 99
67. Toyota Prado - 91
68. Chevrolet Captiva - 81
69. Land Rover Disco Sport - 80
70. Peugeot 308 - 78
71. Honda Brio - 77
72. Audi Q5 - 74
73. BMW X3 - 69
74. Porsche Cayenne - 69
75. Mazda BT-50 - 68
76. BMW X4 - 67
77. Suzuki Jimny - 67
78. Ford Transit - 66
79. Mahindra Bolero - 66
80. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 63
81. Suzuki Vitara - 62
82. Volkswagen Kombi - 59
83. Range Rover Sport - 57
84. Jeep Wrangler - 55
84. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-up - 55
86. Chevrolet Trailblazer - 54
86. Honda CR-V - 54
88. Subaru Forester - 52
89. Audi Q7 - 50
89. Land Rover Discovery - 50
91. Range Rover Evoque - 49
91. Volkswagen Polo Vivo Xpress - 49
93. Mini Hatch 3dr - 46
93. Suzuki Ertiga - 46
95. Chevrolet Sonic - 44
96. Mitsubishi Pajero Sport - 43
96. Tata Indica Vista - 43
98. Nissan NV350 - 42
99. Audi A5 - 41
99. Mini Hatch 5dr - 41
99. Volkswagen Transporter CB - 41
101. Ford Tourneo Connect - 40
101. Mitsubishi ASX - 40
101. Volkswagen Caravelle - 40
*List excludes non-reporters such as Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia and GWM. Spoil sports.