Vehicle sales live up to expectations

The 2011 vehicle sales figures however remain well below the record 714,315 vehicles achieved in 2006.

Export sales of South African-produced motor vehicles missed original projections of 300,000 units, with 271,763 vehicles having sold in the year in focus.

Nevertheless, the exports represented the second highest annual export figure on record.

Naamsa noted that sales over the short to medium term would remain a function of the performance of the domestic economy and, in the case of export sales, the sustainability of recovery in the global economy.

The 2012 projections translate into a conservative expected improvement of about 7.0% in domestic sales volumes for the year, Naamsa said.

Absa Capital's economics desk projects 5% growth for new vehicle sales in 2012. Standard Bank's economic unit said vehicle sales were unlikely to rise significantly in 2012.

"The domestic economy is likely to remain weak and, coupled with the tepid increase in credit uptake and rising unemployment, we are likely to see growth rates in total vehicle sales remain subdued."

New vehicle sales rose 11% in December 2011 compared with the corresponding period a year earlier. Vehicle sales rose 11.7% y/y in November. But the latest figures excluded Mercedes-Benz SA vehicle sales for December. Aggregate industry domestic sales rose to 43,790 for the month, compared with 39,455 vehicles sold during December last year.

Nedbank's economic unit said the December figures continued to point towards moderately weaker demand conditions. The reserve bank's monetary policy committee is likely to keep policy neutral while the economic climate remains cloudy in the face of weak global conditions," it said in a statement. "We expect that the reserve bank will start to tighten policy only in the fourth quarter of 2012."

The Mercedes-Benz withdrawal came as a result of a global directive by Daimler AG in Germany, which is the parent company.

Naamsa understands that the global directive by Daimler AG is precautionary in nature and is related to the European Union Competition Commission investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices by various European truck manufacturers.