Johannesburg – It’s a trend that’s existed throughout 2022: despite the many challenges and headwinds that it faces, the South African vehicle market is holding up rather well.
The Automotive Business Council, more commonly known as Naamsa, has released the country’s official new vehicle sales figures for October and, with a total recorded volume of 45 996 units, the market grew by 11.4% versus the same month last year.
In a reversal of the trend we’ve seen for most of the year, the light commercial and bakkie market led the growth in October, gaining 14.3% year-on-year with a total of 12 738 units. The passenger car market grew by 10.4%, to 30 597 units, and this sector continues to be supported by a resurgent rental car market.
Last month 82.6% of new vehicle sales took place through the dealer channels, while the rental industry accounted for 13.1%, followed by government (2.4%) and corporate fleets (1.9%).
Naamsa said the market’s performance during October was reassuring in light of tough economic pressures, but the association warned that the pace of the market recovery had eased. It said the growth prospects for the remainder of 2022 remained constrained.
“According to the Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), the index tracking business conditions in six months slipped to 49.2,” Naamsa warned. “This is the most pessimistic purchasing managers have been about the outlook since May 2020. The persistence of load shedding and little hope that this will be alleviated over the near term likely also weighed on sentiment.”
10 top-selling brands: October 2022
Watch this space on Tuesday for our comprehensive list of the country’s 50 best-selling vehicles.
Good news for exports
On the upside, South African vehicle exports continue to show encouraging growth, with October seeing a 16.1% year-on-year increase to 29 508 units.
Mercedes led the way last month with 8 075 C-Class models exported, while Ford’s Ranger followed with an impressive 6 312 and the Volkswagen Polo saw an export volume of 5 331.
“Vehicle exports continued their upward momentum during the month despite the logistical disruptions caused by the Transnet strike and consequent force majeure declared,” Naamsa said.
“Despite the weaker global demand, due to major advanced economies around the world entering a new era of persistent and structurally higher inflation, vehicle exports remain on track to reach a level of well over 300 000 units in 2022.”
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