South African passenger vehicle sales continued their losing streak in September.
While the bakkies gained year-on-year (see those numbers here), car and SUV sales fell for the third month in a row, losing 8.6% versus the same month last year, according to Naamsa.
Yet despite the overall decline, the top four manufacturers actually upped their passenger vehicle game. Toyota jumped 9.67% to total 6,535 units, while Volkswagen managed a volume of 5,454 (up 5,4%). Suzuki (4,147 units) and Hyundai (2,269) made smaller gains of 1.15% and 1.98% respectively.
The top-selling passenger vehicle came from Volkswagen’s stable, however, with the Polo Vivo finding 2,698 homes last month, and the Toyota Corolla Cross came home second with 2,259 units sold.
The battle for second place on the hatchback podium was closely contested, with the Suzuki Swift (1,291 units) narrowly ousting the Toyota Starlet (1,247). They were followed by the latest Volkswagen Polo (1,148) and recently facelifted Hyundai Grand i10 (898).
Second in the SUV race, and far behind its Corolla Cross sibling, was the Toyota Fortuner, at 893. It beat the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (858), Nissan Magite (797) and Kia Sonet (743).
TOP SELLING PASSENGER VEHICLES: SEPTEMBER 2023
According to Naamsa, 76.1% of passenger vehicle sales in September took place through the dealer channels, while the rental market accounted for 18.9%.
The National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) said that although there was evidence of pent-up demand for new vehicles, many consumers and businesses were adopting a “wait-and-see” approach to their purchasing decisions, as the rising cost of living and economic slowdown took their toll.
"Sales remain under pressure, and September was generally a challenging trading month, although there were some sparks of positivity," said NADA Chairperson Brandon Cohen.
"Applications to financial institutions for financing were slightly up, as were approvals, as consumers test the waters regarding their creditworthiness for a loan."
However while the new vehicle market is on a slight downward trajectory, September’s overall volume of 46 000 units is in line with pre-pandemic numbers of 2019, WebBank marketing head Lebo Gaoaketse pointed out.
“This indicates a continued resilience and sustained slow recovery as experienced and predicted in the aftermath of the pandemic,” Gaoaketse said. “Whilst there is no doubt that the market has major headwinds to overcome, new vehicle sales continue to defy the odds.”
Year-to-date, South African vehicle sales (including bakkies) are 2.5% ahead of where they were at the same time last year, having surpassed the 400,000 mark in September.
On the export front, volumes were down by 12.6% in September, versus the same month last year, but remain 8.3% ahead, year-to-date, for 2023.
South Africa’s top passenger car exports last month were the Volkswagen Polo (11,402), BMW X3 (6,230) and Mercedes C-Class (5,905). Furthermore, the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger both saw in excess of 5,000 exports.
IOL Motoring