Johannesburg - The South African new vehicle market saw a year-on-year decline in November, according to Naamsa, with overall sales (at 47 486) down 4.6 percent on the same month last year.
The light commercial vehicle market saw the biggest decline of 6.1 percent year-on-year, while the passenger car sector experienced a 5.4 percent drop, but there was at least some good news on the medium and heavy commercial vehicle front, with those segments enjoying respective growth of 17.5 percent and 16.2 percent.
Export sales were up 2.5 percent over November last year, totalling 34 352, although work stoppages at various factories are said to have hampered exports during the month.
WesBank’s sales and marketing head Ghana Msibi partially attributes the drop in domestic sales to the interest rate hike that was announced during the month. Yet despite all that, consumer demand remains robust, he added:
“Considering WesBank application data, consumers are clearly keen to buy cars.
“However, a lot of that demand has shifted to the used car market (69% of all applications were for used cars), indicative of the stress in the new car market as well as the worsening household situation with regard to disposable income and general affordability.”
The finance institution’s data also shows that motorists are holding onto their cars for longer.
Naamsa expects the market to remain under pressure over the medium term:
“In the circumstances, the best that could be anticipated was for the domestic new vehicle market to stabilise in coming months, however, any recovery would likely be modest.”
On the local sales charts, the Toyota Hilux and latest-generation Polo surged ahead, both surpassing the 3000 unit mark, while the Ford Ranger and previous-generation Polo (Vivo), took third and fourth spots.
TOP 30: NOVEMBER 2018
Toyota Hilux3235Volkswagen Polo3092Ford Ranger2506Volkswagen Polo Vivo2427Nissan NP2001698Toyota Quantum1694Toyota Corolla/Quest/Auris1426Isuzu D-Max / KB1418Ford Figo1195Nissan NP300 Hardbody1002Ford Fiesta980Toyota Fortuner886Renault Kwid847Toyota Yaris746Toyota Etios731Hyundai Grand i10726Hyundai i20721Volkswagen Tiguan612Kia Picanto567Renault Sandero554Datsun Go528Nissan Almera520Toyota Avanza503Mazda CX-5428Kia Sportage427Ford Everest405Ford EcoSport400Toyota Rush350Nissan Micra348Toyota Rav4337