New vehicle sales taper off

New vehicles sales for April were 8% up on the same month last year but were the lowest monthly sales since April 2010 and down 27.8% compared to March this year.

Passenger car sales grew by 11.7% over the same month last year, but light commercial vehicle sales declined by 2.5% according to figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa),

Bucking the general trend Ford passenger car retail sales grew almost three times more than the South African passenger car market in April.

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) said it sold 16 860 vehicles in the first four months of this year - 2727 of them in April.

FMCSA sold 750 of its popular Figo models in April to continue its Top 10 position on the passenger sales chart since the start of this year. Ford passenger car sales grow 34.6% on April 2010, almost three times ahead of the market trend.

"Despite the seasonal challenges we see every April, we are delighted that the Ford brand continues to show strong improvement," said Gavin Golightly, FMCSA national sales manager. "More and more consumers in South Africa appreciate the high quality, fuel efficient and safe vehicles Ford offers, and particularly that they offer such great value and low cost of ownership."