New vehicle sales plunge 14.3% year on year in September
Double-digit rises in new car prices, low levels of consumer and business confidence and relatively high interest rates will affect sales of new cars, Naamsa says
THIS is continuing to be a bad year for the South African automotive industry: new vehicle sales declined again in September, down 14.3% to 47,399 units compared to September 2015, figures released by the Department of Trade and Industry showed on Monday. Sales have now dropped in every month this year on a year-on-year basis. "The recession in the domestic new vehicle market had accelerated significantly during September 2016 with all major segments reflecting double-digit or near double-digit declines," said the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa), following the release of the data. "Given the present difficult economic environment in SA, the negative trend is expected to continue over the medium term." The biggest surprise came with a decline in new vehicle exports, which registered a drop of 6.5% for September against the same month in 2015, compared to an increase in August of 26.7%. However, the decline should be noted in the context of a record mon...
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