Vehicle industry will not offer sales forecasts until effect of reshuffle is known
Motor industry officials have suspended new-vehicle sales forecasts until the effect on the economy of President Jacob Zuma’s Cabinet reshuffle, particularly the sacking of former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, becomes clear. Figures released on Monday by the Department of Trade and Industry showed that new-vehicle sales grew 2.1% in March, compared to a year earlier. The industry sold 48,514 new vehicles in March, up from 47,514 in March 2016. New-car sales also improved 2.1%, from 30,390 to 31,034. Sales of commercial vehicles were particularly promising. Light commercials, mainly pick-ups, rose 1.1%, medium commercials 11.2%, heavies 4.8% and extra-heavies 27.7%. The upshot was that sales of all new vehicles for the first quarter of 2017 rose 1.9% from a year earlier, from 144,172 to 146,951. Car sales were up 0.9%, from 98,377 to 99,228. However, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa), which represents not only local producers but also importers, s...
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