Consumers are downscaling from luxury vehicles to small cars and rushing out to buy scooters and motorcycles to trim their budgets, reduce the impact of recent petrol price hikes and beat looming toll fees.
This was the word from motorcycle importers and retailers in Durban and Johannesburg this week who said they were seeing an upswing in sales of small motorcycles and scooters and that motorists were trading in their luxury cars for more affordable vehicles.
Association of Motorcycle Importers and Distributors national director Maurice Britten said 10 500 scooters were sold in South Africa in 2010, which was up 10 percent on 2009.
“On the scooter and small capacity end we are seeing quite a bit of growth, but that is possibly because more people are thinking of getting two wheels. But on the big bikes and the cruisers it’s an economic choice. Commercial delivery bikes are going quite well because it might be a case of small businesses relying on two wheels rather than a van.”
Grant Umpleby of Grant Umpleby Motorcycles in Durban said there had been a noticeable upswing in sales of small motorcycles and scooters.
“There is definitely a big upturn in commuter sales of the smaller bikes, from the 125 four-strokes right through the scooter range. The upturn has been happening for the past 14 to 18 months and the enquiries have become a lot more intense with the fuel price going up. Where sales have reduced on the big bikes, the commuter side is increasing. Durban has become very dense in terms of traffic, so you don’t need a bike that travels at high speeds to cope.”
He said families which previously ran two or three cars had downscaled to one car, with the husband often using a scooter to get to work, to save money on vehicle finance and insurance.
Danie Snyman of Honda Umhlanga said scooter sales had picked up by about five percent and motorists were also trading in luxury vehicles for smaller cars.
“They are looking at smaller cars - a lot of people are downscaling from a C and B segment to an A segment vehicle. They are trading in the Mercedes for a Honda Jazz. We are worried about the petrol price, because the car market is just recovering from 2009/10. The petrol price is going to scare people from buying cars because the economy is going to slow down,” Snyman said.
However, CMH Toyota Umhlanga dealer principal Clinton Walters said consumers were still buying luxury vehicles such as Pradas, Fortuners and Land Cruisers.
“I think it’s still early days. It has only been two days since the petrol price increase. Down the road we may feel the effects of it.”
The co-owner of Johannesburg-based Southern African Motorcycles said there had been a “huge upswing” of 27 percent in mostly scooter sales in recent months, especially 125cc and 150cc models.
Frans Earle said he had run an advertising campaign showing that for the cost of a 60-litre tank of petrol at R8.84 a litre, a motorist could finance an entry-level scooter payment for R255.66, pay the insurance of R89 and be left with R185.74 to fill its tank with petrol. He said the scooter could travel 735km on that amount of petrol, assuming a consumption of 2.8 litres/100km.
“We are seeing new people entering the market. Everyone is buying, from the under-34-year-olds right up to 65,” Earle said.
Prices of entry-levels scooters start at about R6000.