“We recorded a market share of 14.2% in August on the back of continued strong demand for our products,” said Malcolm Gauld, Vice President Sales and Marketing for GMSA.
“Regarding passenger sales, our recently launched Chevrolet Captiva exceeded expectations by selling just under 400 units in its first month of sales and together with Optra, Aveo and Spark sales of some 1,500 units, contributed to the brand selling a record 2,005 units”.
He said the Opel stable, too, continued its good form with 4 248 units, thanks to the popularity of the Corsa and Astra models.
It was also another record month for the Corsa Utility half-ton bakkie, of which 2,433 units were sold.
“Regarding the market outlook through year end, the apparent rebound in the August passenger market should be treated with caution for two reasons: August sales appear to include launch volumes from several manufacturers as new models were brought to market and high direct channel sales are inflating the numbers,” Gauld said.
He pointed out that across the board both month-on-month sales and year-to-date new vehicle sales figures are down on 2006 volumes.
