New vehicle sales continued to slide

The biggest drop in sales occurred in the passenger vehicle segment where sales showed a decline of 14.6% compared to last January.

Encouragingly, the light commercial market shed less than 1% compared to January 2007 and the truck market grew 19.2% compared to January 2007.

The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (NAAMSA) today (Monday, 4 February 2008) reported a total of 52,205 units sold during January.

Passenger vehicle sales (30,483) were down 4.5% year-on-year while commercial vehicle sales held strong at 15,302 units, an increase of 7% year-on-year.

“This is in-line with current market trends,” said Jacques Brent, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. “As private buyers are struggling with market conditions we are seeing a slowdown in the passenger car market while the light commercial vehicle market appears more stable.”

Ford Motor Company sold 5,465 units in January. The Fiesta was once again the top selling Ford passenger car with 410 units sold while the Mazda2 had another impressive month with 763 units sold.

The Ford Bantam remains the brand's top selling commercial vehicle with 1,236 units retailed, while the Ford Ranger also featured strongly with 905 units sold.

“Though last week's announcement that the interest rate would go unchanged came as a relief to South African consumers, buyers are likely to remain cautious in the coming months with difficult trading conditions expected to prevail till the second half of the year. Government Infrastructure expenditure will however as expected provide some compensation,” Brent said.

In the declining market, General Motors South Africa (GMSA) sold a total of 5,791 new vehicles during January, with strong sales coming from brands such as Chevrolet (984), Opel (2,950), Isuzu (1,760) and close to 100 Saab, HUMMER and Cadillac vehicles.

Malcolm Gauld, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for GMSA, said: “January new vehicle sales figures are typically influenced by a multitude of factors. January has fewer real trading days as South Africans slowly return to work after the festive break, accompanied by some resistance to vehicle buying until debt positions are understood following spending over this period.

“We expect new vehicle demand to remain soft through mid year with a slight recovery thereafter to end the year 2 to 3% down on 2007. Demand for commercial vehicles should remain at current good levels ahead of 2010 related projects and general economic growth.”

He said the Chevrolet stable sold 984 units, including 192 Captivas and 509 Aveos and Optras; 1,220 Opel passenger vehicles, as well as 1,730 Corsa Utility vehicles, and 1,581 Isuzu bakkies.

Footnote: Bizcommunity.com's Motoring Editor, Henrie Geyser, says industry pundits are projecting that the new car market will decrease by about 6% during the course of the year, while the light commercial vehicle segment will slow by a more subdued 2%. Sales of medium and heavy trucks and busses are expected to grow by about 8%.