Johannesburg - April was a month that South Africa’s motor industry was not looking forward to, with Treasury's 2018 Budget - announced in February - having imposed a taxation triple whammy on vehicles that came into effect on April 1.
In addition to the infamous one percent VAT hike that has affected everything we buy barring a few essentials like bread, the assault on car buyers also came in the form of a small hike in emissions taxes (R10 per gram of CO2 above 120g/km) and a five percent hike in the maximum ad valorem excise duty for imported vehicles - although the latter is only expected to affect more expensive cars costing upwards of R750 000.
Expectedly, these pre-increase price jitters were enough to get motorists into showrooms ahead of the expected hikes, with Naamsa having attributed the increase in vehicle sales in March (in spite of fewer selling days) to pre-emptive buying.
But how was SA vehicle pricing impacted in the end?
We compared March and April pricing data supplied by vehicle information specialist
, using a wide selection of cars from all ends of the market, and here’s what we found:
MARCH 2018
APRIL 2018
%
Audi A3 Sportback 1.4 TFSI autoR452 000R456 0000.9%Audi RS5 Coupe quattroR1 285 500R1 297 0000.9%BMW 320iR552 912R557 8120.9%BMW X5 30dR1 108 404R1 118 5540.9%BMW M760Li xDriveR2 801 836R2 828 4110.9%Datsun Go 1.2 LuxR131 500R132 9001.1%Fiat 500 0.9 TwinAir PopR194 900R196 9001.0%Ford EcoSport 1.0T TrendR283 900R286 4000.9%Ford Ranger 3.2 DC 4x4 Wildtrak autoR624 900R633 5001.4%Haval H2 1.5T LuxuryR274 900R274 9000%Honda Brio hatch 1.2 ComfortR174 800R176 5991.0%Honda CR-V 2.0 EleganceR477 900R482 8001.0%Hyundai Grand i10 1.0 MotionR149 900R154 9003.3%Hyundai Elantra 1.6 ExecutiveR299 900R299 9000%Hyundai Tucson 2.0 PremiumR379 900R384 9001.3%Isuzu KB 250 D-Teq DC X-Rider R404 200 R407 800 0.9%Jaguar XE 2.0d PureR569 500R575 9001.1%Jaguar F-Pace 3.0d AWD PureR921 646R950 0343.1%Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD LimitedR1 017 900R1 026 9000.9%Kia Picanto 1.0 StartR137 995R139 4951.4%Kia Rio hatch 1.2 EXR254 995R257 4951.0%Kia Sorento 2.2 CRDI AWD SXLR748 995R755 4950.9%Range Rover Evoque SE TD4R768 696R792 4713.1%Land Rover Discovery HSE TD6R1 249 618R1 288 0063.1%Lexus RX 350 EXR916 600R926 1001.0%Mahindra XUV500 2.2 CRDe W8 R364 995 R367 995 0.8%Mazda2 1.5 Active R217 300 R219 500 1.0%Mazda CX-5 2.0 Dynamic autoR419 900 R424 000 1.0%Mercedes-Benz C200 auto R576 842 R584 257 1.3%Mercedes-Benz S560 L R2 047 524 R2 066 244 1.0%Mercedes-Maybach S650 R3 229 266 R3 259 537 1.0%Mini One hatch 3dr R299 500 R302 200 0.9%Nissan Micra Active 1.2 VisiaR159 900R161 5001.0%Nissan X-Trail 1.6 dCi Visia R395 900 R400 500 1.2%Opel Astra hatch 1.0T Enjoy R307 800 R310 500 0.9%Peugeot 3008 1.6T Allure R459 900 R459 900 0%Porsche Panamera R1 361 000 R1 361 000 0%Porsche 911 GT3 R2 750 000 R2 750 000 0%Renault Kwid 1.0 Dynamique R136 900 R137 900 0.7%Renault Duster 1.5 dCi Dyn 4WD R309 900 R312 900 1.0%Suzuki Vitara 1.6 GL+ R310 900 R313 900 1.0%Toyota Etios hatch 1.5 Sprint R174 300 R176 300 1.1%Toyota Corolla Quest 1.6 R212 700 R215 200 1.2%Toyota Hilux 2.8 DC 4x4 Raider autoR595 700 R601 600 1.0%Toyota Land Cruiser 200 4.5 D V8 VX-R R1 345 000 R1 372 800 2.1%Polo Vivo hatch 1.4 Trendline R179 900 R179 900 0%VW Polo hatch 1.0 TSI Comfortline R264 700 R264 700 0%VW Golf GTI R548 600 R548 600 0%VW Amarok 3.0 V6 TDI DC Extreme R784 400 R791 300 0.9%
Despite this being a month when carmakers usually impose quarterly price increases, April’s price hikes were moderate across the board, with some manufacturers even having absorbed the VAT increase.
Pricing for most of Volkswagen’s range, for instance, remains the same as in March, and the same goes for Peugeot, Porsche and Haval.
The steepest increases took place within the Jaguar Land Rover stable, and even these amounted to just 3.1 percent. Most manufacturers hiked prices by around 1 percent, as per the VAT increase.
It’s worth bearing in mind however, the the ad valorem rates only apply to cars that dock in SA ports from April 1, thus it won’t yet affect cars currently sitting in showrooms.
Another factor to consider is current rand strength, which car manufacturers could factor into their sums to offset all those aforementioned tax hikes because let’s face it, although growth is predicted, the vehicle market is still in a depressed state and the car companies need to move metal.
Extravagant price increases is the last thing this industry can afford right now, and that - for you, the consumer - is certainly a good thing.