The South African new-vehicle market continued its positive performance in July with sales of 46 719 units showing a growth of 4.1 percent compared to the same month last year.
According to the latest figures released by Naamsa today, passenger car sales in particular showed a healthy resurgence, with sales of 30 826 units reflecting a growth of 6.2 percent over July 2016. Light commercials, which have buoyed the market with strong growth in recent years, showed a marginal 1.7 percent improvement in July, while medium and heavy trucks dipped by 16.1 and 3.7 percent respectively.
Out of all reported figures, an estimated 79.2 percent represented dealer sales, 13.8 went to rental fleets, 3.9 to government and 3.1 to corporate fleets.
The recent interest rate drop will offer some relief to hard-pressed car buyers, while expected exchange rate stabilisation should keep vehicle price inflation to a minimum, says Naamsa. However the association expects the overall market to remain fairly flat for 2017 with similar sales numbers to 2016.
After years of boycott from Kia and Hyundai, the Korean brands have now jumped onto the Naamsa bandwagon and will report individual sales figures going forward.
The Kia Picanto was the best seller in July from the two sister companies, with 659 sales, while other good-performing models included the Kia Rio (635), and Hyundai Grand i10 (565) and Hyundai Creta (514).
Mercedes-Benz and BMW, however, are still standing by their decision to not report individual sales.
THE NUMBERS: JULY 2017
Sales Channels
Dealerships79.2 percentRental industry13.8 percentCorporates3.1 percentGovernment3.9 percent
T
op bakkies
Toyota Hilux3100Ford Ranger2300Nissan NP300 Hardbody1396Nissan NP2001376Isuzu KB1067Chevrolet Utility780
Volkswagen Amarok355Toyota Land Cruiser PU228
Popular passenger cars*
Volkswagen Polo Vivo2675Volkswagen Polo1623Toyota Corolla/Quest/Auris1480Toyota Fortuner1033Ford Fiesta998Toyota Etios973Ford EcoSport851Renault Kwid799Kia Picanto659Datsun Go647
* Full ranking not possible as BMW and Mercedes do not report individual sales figures.