For the third month since December last year, the Ford Ranger was South Africa's most popular vehicle in May.
The usual front-runner, Toyota's Hilux, is losing a little sales steam as buyers anticipate the all-new model due early next year (read more about it HERE ), although Ford's Ranger is also due for a facelift later this year.
Toyota still dominated the overall market in May though, with 8043 units sold, and closely followed by VWSA (7564) and with Ford trailing in third place (6713).
TOUGH TIMES, RENTAL WORRIES
May was another tough month for the industry, with overall new vehicle sales totalling 47 868, down 3.2 percent on May last year. It was actually quite a decent month for the light commercial vehicle market, up 2.2 percent year-on-year, so it was actually the 5.4 percent decline in passenger car sales that dragged the industry down.
The rental companies gobbled up just 3.5 percent of the overall sales pie, worryingly almost 20 percent down on the same period last year, while robust government sales accounted for 6.9 percent of the market and corporate fleets 4.7 percent. Is the rental industry taking a cautious approach ahead of SA's new travel laws for kids? It’s widely expected that these new regulations will put a damper on local tourism.
EXPORTS SURGE
It was a much rosier picture on the export front, with a total of 33 411 vehicles leaving our shores, 114.2 percent more than the same month last year and well on course for the expected record annual export number of 330 000.
While that's good news for our assembly plants, the local market looks set to remain under pressure for the foreseeable future and as far as Naamsa is concerned, the best we can expect is for 2015 sales to match last year's total - and even that depends on a little growth taking place in the second half of the year.
COSTLY TIMES
WesBank's research head Rudolf Mahoney believes that many potential buyers are not prioritising the purchase of a new car in the immediate future. “Over the last few months we've seen a rise in the overall cost of mobility.” Mahoney said. “Fuel prices have increased 18% since the start of the year as a result of a weaker rand, and the Reserve Bank has warned of interest rate hikes in the coming months.”
Toyota SA's Calvyn Hamman added: “The decline in specifically the passenger segment shows a level of caution with the wider car-buying public - this can be attributed to uncertainty around fuel prices, utility prices, imminent interest rate increases and vehicle price increase.”
TOP COMPANIES
1. Toyota - 8043
2. Volkswagen - 7564
3. Ford - 6713
4. General Motors - 4696
5. AMH/AAD - 4311
6. Nissan - 4125
7. Mercedes-Benz - 2748
8. BMW - 2025
9. Renault - 1510
10. Chrysler - 692
TOP 100 REPORTED SALES: MAY 2015*
1. Ford Ranger - 3039
2. Toyota Hilux - 2608
3. Volkswagen Polo - 1879
4. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 1876
5. Nissan NP200 - 1727
6. Toyota Corolla/Quest/Auris - 1400
7. Isuzu KB - 1255
8. Chevrolet Utility - 1228
9. Ford EcoSport - 980
10. Toyota Etios - 971
11. Nissan NP300 Hardbody - 912
12. Ford Fiesta - 845
13. Ford Figo - 782
14. Chevrolet Spark - 754
15. BMW 3 Series - 686
16. Toyota Quantum - 642
17. Volkswagen Golf - 621
18. Toyota Fortuner - 564
19. Audi A3 - 489
20. Renault Captur - 425
21. Toyota Rav4 - 416
22. Renault Sandero - 410
23. Datsun Go - 406
24. Audi A4 - 401
25. Renault Duster - 365
26. Volkswagen Amarok - 345
27. Toyota Avanza - 333
28. Ford Focus - 321
29. BMW 1 Series - 316
30. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 303
31. Volkswagen Up - 292
32. Volkswagen Jetta - 291
33. Renault Clio - 284
34. Ford Ikon - 272
35. Ford Kuga - 259
36. Volkswagen Tiguan - 246
37. Nissan Qashqai - 228
38. Nissan X-Trail - 227
39. Jeep Renegade - 210
40. BMW 2 Series - 203
40. Opel Mokka - 203
42. Mazda3 - 198
43. Mazda CX-5 - 192
44. Land Rover Discovery Sport - 183
45. Chevrolet Aveo - 178
46. Honda Jazz - 169
47. Audi A1 - 168
47. Honda Ballade - 168
49. Suzuki Swift - 160
49. Toyota Prado - 160
51. Opel Corsa - 156
52. BMW 4 Series - 145
53. Volkswagen Caddy - 144
54. Audi Q3 - 143
55. Chevrolet Cruze - 142
56. BMW X5 - 129
57. Chevrolet Captiva - 124
58. Mazda BT-50 - 122
59. Honda Brio - 121
60. Toyota Yaris - 120
61. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 117
62. Volvo V40 - 114
63. Audi Q5 - 113
64. Jeep Compass - 112
65. Nissan NV350 Taxi - 111
66. BMW X3 - 107
67. Suzuki Ertiga - 106
68. Nissan Navara - 104
69. Suzuki Jimny - 100
70. Range Rover Sport - 98
71. Mazda2 - 92
72. Honda Mobilio - 91
73. Ford Transit - 89
73. Land Rover Discovery - 89
75. Jeep Wrangler - 88
75. Opel Adam - 88
77. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 87
77. Volvo XC60 - 87
79. Fiat 500 - 86
80. Mitsubishi ASX - 85
81. Mini Hatch 3dr - 83
82. Nissan Micra - 80
83. Mahindra Bolero - 77
84. Mini Hatch 5dr - 75
85. BMW X4 - 73
85. Dodge Journey - 73
87. Suzuki Celerio - 72
87. Volkswagen Golf SV - 72
89. Nissan Almera - 71
89. Suzuki Splash - 71
91. Mitsubishi Mirage - 69
92. Audi A5 - 68
92. Honda CR-V - 68
92. Nissan Juke - 68
92. Subaru Forester - 68
96. Jeep Cherokee - 67
97. Range Rover Evoque - 66
98. Mitsubishi Triton - 64
99. Tata Super Ace - 61
100. BMW 5 Series - 58
*List excludes non-reporters such as Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia and GWM. Shame on them.
Data: Lightstone Auto, Naamsa