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By Moses Akaigwe
New vehicle sales for October in South Adrica softened marginally in terms of year-to-date performance, despite showing reassuring gains year-on-year.
October sales increased 11.4 percent to 45,966 units compared to the same month last year, according to maamsa | The Automotive Business Council.
“While this performance in isolation continues to be reassuring to South Africa’s new vehicle market, it needs to be considered in terms of the performance for the rest of 2022 and the easing off of market activity year-to-date,” said Lebogang Gaoaketse, Head of Marketing and Communications at WesBank.
Sales during the month had declined off September sales, down 3.8 percent, albeit that September was the second-best selling month of 2022. As a result, year-to-date market performance has eased to 13.1 percent from the year-to-September figure of 13.4 percent.
“The good news is that sales have breached the 400,000-mark by some margin and that a new vehicle market of over 500,000 units for the year is definitely possible,” said Gaoaketse. “In perspective, the year-to-date growth compared to last year is 50,713 units, or a good full month’s sales extra this year, which is good news for the industry and dealers alike.”
Passenger cars contributed 10.4 percent growth during October to 30,597 units. Dealer sales in the segment accounted for 24,454 units, an increase of 12.5 percent compared to October last year. Passenger car sales also broke a milestone year-to-date figure to reach 301,137 units, which is 19.8 percent ahead of the same 10 months last year.
A similar perspective is not so rosy for the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment, which is down 1% year-to-date compared to 2021 to 111,751 sales. October sales in the segment out-performed passenger cars percentagewise however, growing 14.3 percent to 12,738 units year-on-year. Dealers retailed 13.9 percent more LCVs in October than the same month last year, at 11,052 units.
The rental market contributed 6,032 units to the overall market volume during the month, up 4.5 percent.
“October sales remained reassuringly robust given the logistical disruptions experienced during the month,” said Gaoaketse. “With the rise in interest rates last month and the economic outlook provided by the mid-term budget, South African consumers are faced with a balancing act of affordability versus a growing need to replace their vehicles, a decision largely delayed over the past two years given the pandemic. It provides a cauldron of opportunity for the motor industry to meet the needs of motorists.”
…Toyota tops passenger and LCV sales
In a related development, Toyota Hilux is, once again, South Africa’s most popular vehicle with 3 336 deliveries in October, continuing its legendary retail leadership. Similarly, Toyota’s total sales tally for the month – 12 574 units – is a remarkable performance, reflecting an impressive market share of 27.3%.
Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Toyota South Africa, is upbeat about the company’s results: “Despite obvious market detractors such as the Transnet strike and volatile trading conditions, I am very proud of Toyota’s performance year-to-date. Over 12 000 units retailed for the month and a market share of 27.3 percent is a phenomenal result – all credit has to go our dealer network and, of course, our loyal customer base. Thank you!”
Reflecting on the new vehicle sales statistics for the month of October 2022, the National Association of Automotive Manufacturers of South Africa (naamsa) said that, although the pace of recovery has started to ease, the performance of the new vehicle market remained reassuring considering further headwinds such as the logistical disruptions during the month.
Aggregate domestic new vehicle sales in October 2022, at 45 966 units reflected an increase of 4 715 units, or 11.4%, from the 41 251 vehicles sold in October 2021. Export sales recorded an increase of 4 101 units, or 16.1 percent, to 29 508 units in October 2022 compared to the 25 407 vehicles exported in October 2021.
In the Toyota stable, the sales runner-up for the month was the Corolla Cross which managed 2 014 deliveries, with other notable contributions coming from the Urban Cruiser (1 820), the ubiquitous Quantum (1 239), the Fortuner (847), as well as the Starlet (839). TSAM’s truck division Hino had a strong sales month with the 200-Series retailing 66 units while the 300-Series and 500-Series recorded 150 and 114 units apiece.
On the luxury front, Lexus ES (22) and RX (17) also had a decent showing on the leader board. TSAM is also proud that its Parts’ Supply business distributed just under 1.4 million items to domestic dealers, while a further 285 000 pieces were shipped outside of the country.
“The incredible loyalty shown by our customers over more than half a century has enabled us to achieve an outstanding share of the local market. We are thankful to our fleet owners and rental companies for their continued support in these trying economic times. We are also grateful to our Dealer Network, as well as all Toyota staff, for their sterling efforts in making Toyota such a competitive brand,” concludes Theron.
ENDS
