Car sales slightly up

According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) 22,473 passenger cars were sold in January.

But light commercial vehicle sales declined 9.4% over December last year to 8,978 units. The net effect was a total January new vehicle sales figure of 32,999 units - a mere half a percent increase over the previous month.

However, market conditions over the same month last year portray the continued depressed state of the new vehicle market in South Africa. Passenger vehicle sales were 34.4% down, and light commercial vehicles 41.3% slower than January 2008.

“Traditionally, December and January figures are difficult to interpret because of dealers holding back registrations into the New Year,” says Jacques Brent, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. “However, the effects are less pronounced currently as dealers work towards every sale possible in these conditions. While some manufacturers did show skewed figures to December and January sales, the market effect is nominal and in real terms showed a steeper decline than the general bank of sales held into January.”

Ford Motor Company passenger car sales remained stable through December and January, aided by a 9.8% increase in Ford Fiesta sales and the best ever sales month for the Mazda CX-7 with 119 units being registered.

The Bantam was Ford's best performing light commercial vehicle with 496 new registrations in January. The LCV market was hard hit in January, declining 9.4% over December and 41% over the same period last year. “This is a traditional trend as business slows over the festive season and purchase decisions are put on hold into the New Year,” says Brent.

The Volkswagen Polo was the top selling car in January (1,533), followed by Mercedes-Benz C-Class (1,457), Toyota Yaris (1,312), VW CitiGolf (1,079), BMW 3-Series (960), Toyota Corolla (918), VW Polo Classic (618), Ford Fiesta (597), Honda Jazz (580) and Opel Corsa (552).

In the light commercial section the Toyota Hilux continued to dominate (1,583), followed by Opel Corsa Utility (1,278), Toyota Quantum (1,220), Isuzu KB (896), Ford bantam (496), Nissan Hardbody (444), Nissan NP200 (412), Ford ranger (376), Toyota Land Cruiser PU (229) and Mitsubishi Triton (211).

Footnote: Sales figures quoted from the Naamsa include overall sales figures reported by Associated Motor Holdings. These figures are also included in the numbers quoted for the corresponding month in the previous year.