Rising car prices and interest rates failed to put the brakes on consumer demand in September, with new-vehicle sales up 10.8% on the same month last year.
Amid the despondency about load-shedding and other weakening economic indicators, the new-vehicle market continued to reflect a healthy performance but the pace of recovery has started to slow down, said motor industry body Naamsa.
There were 47,786 new vehicles sold in SA last month, an increase of 4,639 units over September 2021, while export sales recorded a 104.6% increase to 41,474 units.
The local passenger car market at 32,392 units registered a 9.7% gain over September 2021, while light commercials (bakkies and minibuses) rose 14.9% to 12,573 units.
“The new vehicle market’s resilient performance continued during the month but at a slower pace as along with the sixth consecutive increase in interest rates since November 2021, September 2022 was by far the worst month of the year in terms of the cumulative amount of load-shedding,” said Mikel Mabasa, CEO of Naamsa.
He said the new vehicle market’s performance for the year to date is still 13.4% ahead compared to the corresponding period of 2021 but the pace of growth being experienced in the market is expected to slow down for the balance of the year.
Applications for finance across both new and used vehicles was positive year on year, with demand for new vehicle deals outperforming potential pre-owned sales, said WesBank.
“Consumers are clearly looking for value in the new vehicle market,” said Lebogang Gaoaketse, WesBank’s head of marketing and communications.
“Despite the demand being in favour of new vehicle deals, the average deal size has remained consistent year on year, indicating that affordability remains a major consideration. Consumers are also making the choice in the face of pre-owned deals that display price inflation of more than 20%,” Gaoaketse said.
The rise in sales in September was encouraging considering they were achieved in tough trading conditions and an ongoing stock supply shortage, said Alex Boavida, vice-chair of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (Nada).
The numbers were aided by a strong showing from Toyota. With its Durban car factory back up to near full production after being closed for nearly four months due to flooding, Toyota grew its market leadership in September and posted 12,059 sales, nearly double the 6,750 units of its nearest competitor, Volkswagen.
Suzuki was the third most popular brand with 4,355 sales, ahead of Hyundai (3,146), Nissan (2,649), Renault (2,601), Isuzu (2,287), Ford (2,212), Kia (2,086), Chery (1,352), BMW (1,095), Haval (1,066), Mahindra (1,030), Mercedes-Benz (852) and Stellantis (597).
SA’s BEST SELLING NEW VEHICLES — SEPTEMBER 2022
- Toyota Hilux — 2,842
- VW Polo Vivo — 2,473
- Isuzu D-Max — 1,968
- Toyota Urban Cruiser — 1,946
- Ford Ranger — 1,604
- Toyota Hi-Ace — 1,526
- Toyota Corolla Cross — 1,434
- VW Polo — 1,371
- Suzuki Swift — 1,332
- Nissan NP200 — 1,198
- Renault Kwid — 1,077
- Kia Picanto — 842
- VW T-Cross — 814
- Toyota Starlet — 786
- Chery Tiggo4 Pro — 773
- Suzuki Vitara Brezza — 733
- Renault Kiger — 731
- Renault Triber — 712
- Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up — 666
- Toyota Fortuner — 636
- Toyota Agya — 594
- Hyundai Grand i10 — 584
- Hyundai Venue — 566
- Hyundai Atos — 560
- Toyota Corolla Quest — 510
- Nissan Magnite — 471
- Ford EcoSport — 464
- Nissan Navara — 450
- Suzuki DZire — 415
- Toyota Land Cruiser Pickup — 403