The sagging economy and steep new car price increases are eating into vehicle sales like never before, with the overall market plummeting 17 percent year-on-year to 44 883 units.
According to Naamsa, the passenger car market took the biggest knock, contracting 20.6 percent compared to July 2015, and this in spite of a particularly strong buying spree from the rental industry, which accounted for 18.5 percent of new car sales in July (13.1 percent of overall market).
Light commercial vehicles fared better, falling 9.9 percent year on year and the all-new Toyota Hilux launched earlier in 2016 clearly had the upper hand, with 3153 sales versus 2305 in the case of the Ford Ranger that was giving it a serious run for its money before the redesign. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles also registered a decline in July, albeit a milder one, falling by 13.9 and 5.7 percent respectively.
Vehicle sales are unlikely to turn the corner in the near future given that we are essentially in a state of stagflation, with economic growth being flat at best while, on most fronts, prices continue to rise. New vehicle buyers have had to contend with double-digit vehicle price increases this year due to a rand that was particularly weak earlier in the year.
On the upside, the petrol price is going down by almost R1 in August and at the moment the rand is stronger than it's been since November last year - should it continue on this path, we could eventually see some price relief in new car showrooms.
Another upside, for the general economy at least, is that new vehicle exports are sailing along nicely, with July having seen a 2.4 percent year-on-year increase.
THE NUMBERS: JULY 2016
Sales Channels
Dealerships: 82.3%
Corporate: 3.0%
Rental industry: 13.1%
Government: 1.6%
Top companies
1. Toyota - 10 224
2. Volkswagen - 6814
3. Ford - 6814
4. AMH / AAD - 4621
5. GM / Isuzu - 3499
6. Nissan - 3303
7. Mercedes-Benz - 2745
8. BMW - 1339
9. Renault - 1295
10. Mazda - 949
Top 100 reported sales*
1. Toyota Hilux - 3153
2. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 2452
3. Ford Ranger - 2305
4. Ford Fiesta - 1740
5. Volkswagen Polo - 1595
6. Toyota Quantum - 1435
7. Toyota Fortuner - 1418
8. Isuzu KB - 1279
9. Toyota Corolla/Quest/Auris - 1243
10. Chevrolet Utility - 1143
11. Toyota Etios - 923
12. Nissan NP200 - 917
13. Nissan NP300 Hardbody - 879
14. Ford EcoSport - 867
15. Renault Sandero - 522
16. Toyota Rav4 - 441
17. Volkswagen Golf - 435
18. Ford Focus - 404
19. Mazda CX-5 - 387
20. BMW 3 Series - 363
21. Toyota Avanza - 357
22. Volkswagen Amarok - 351
23. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 343
24. Datsun Go - 277
25. Renault Captur - 276
26. Audi A4 - 261
27. Audi A3 - 258
28. Renault Clio - 244
29. Nissan Qashqai - 223
30. Nissan NV350 Taxi - 217
31. Ford Kuga - 204
32. Renault Duster - 199
33. Mazda CX-3 - 187
34. Toyota Yaris - 178
35. Volkswagen Up - 175
36. Volkswagen Caddy - 173
37. Nissan X-Trail - 172
38. Nissan Navara - 171
39. BMW 1 Series - 163
40. Ford Figo - 156
41. Mazda2 - 152
42. Opel Astra - 151
43. Mazda3 - 149
44. Nissan Micra - 146
45. Audi Q3 - 142
45. Mahindra KUV100 - 142
47. Suzuki Swift - 136
48. Chevrolet Spark - 132
48. Toyota Aygo - 132
50. Volkswagen Jetta - 128
51. BMW X1 - 124
51. Honda HR-V - 124
53. Volkswagen Tiguan - 123
54. BMW 4 Series - 120
55. Mitsubishi ASX- 116
56. BMW 2 Series - 111
56. Honda Brio - 111
58. Honda Jazz - 105
59. Suzuki Jimny - 104
60. Toyota Prado - 101
61. Audi A1 - 99
61. Opel Corsa - 99
63. Ford Everest - 98
64. Jaguar F-Pace - 97
64. Jeep Renegade - 97
66. Opel Mokka - 91
67. BMW X5 - 78
68. Land Rover Disco Sport - 84
68. Volkswagen Kombi - 84
70. Nissan Juke - 82
71. Chevrolet Captiva - 77
71. Chevrolet Cruze - 77
73. BMW X3 - 74
74. Nissan Almera - 72
75. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 70
76. Mahindra Bolero - 69
77. Land Rover Discovery - 67
77. Range Rover Sport - 67
79. Mazda BT-50 - 66
80. Suzuki Super Carry - 65
81. Ford Mustang - 64
82. Subaru Forester - 63
83. Mini Hatch 5dr - 62
84. Audi Q5 - 61
85. Peugeot 208 - 60
85. Toyota Land Cruiser 200 - 60
87. Honda CR-V - 55
87. Mini Hatch 3dr - 55
87. Mitsubishi Pajero Sport - 55
90. BMW X4 - 54
90. Ford Transit - 54
90. Suzuki Vitara - 54
93. Tata Super Ace - 53
94. Volkswagen Golf SV - 51
94. Volvo V40 - 51
96. Honda Ballade - 48
97. Ford Transit Connect - 47
97. Nissan Sentra - 47
99. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 46
99. Renault Kadjar - 46
100. Mahindra XUV500 - 45
List excludes non-reporters such as Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia and GWM. They should be ashamed.