New car sales slump again in December

According to figures released today (Wednesday, 9 January 2008) by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (NAAMSA) only 44,926 units were sold in December. The passenger car marketed accounted for 28,659 units while 13,717 light commercial vehicles were sold.

The December figures bring the total for 2007 to 676,097 units which is a decline of 5.4% over the previous year.

“In recent years we've seen unprecedented growth in the new vehicle market with a peak of over 700,000 units in 2006. Sales of new passenger vehicles in 2007 came under heavy pressure when the National Credit Act was introduced mid-year while continued interest rate hikes and high fuel prices had a major impact,” said Jacques Brent, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa.

Ford Motor Company held strong in December with 5,702 units sold, just 2.8% down on the previous month despite the reduced selling days over the festive season. With 414 units sold, the Ford Fiesta topped the passenger vehicle sales for Ford while the Mazda2 again impressed as the top selling Mazda with 784 units sold. The Ford Bantam was again the brand's top selling commercial vehicle with 1,280 units retailed.

“December is traditionally regarded as a difficult month with many buyers on holiday or wanting to register their vehicles in the new year. The true impact of December sales can only be fully understood once we have seen January sales figures due to many manufacturers only reporting sales in the new year,” he said.

The difficult market conditions are expected to continue this year with indications of further interest rate increases.

The top selling passenger cars in December were:

The top selling light commercial vehicles were: