Vehicle sales for April 2018 showed consolidation in spite of all the public holidays and 1% vat hike. Who were the big winners and losers?

Despite all the public holidays in April, the increase in VAT and the industrial strike, new car sales remained steady versus the same period last year. Total vehicle sales reached 36 346 which shows an increase of 3.6% to April 2017.

The 1% increase in VAT will likely have an effect on sales throughout the year, but has not been witnessed as of yet. Passenger vehicles totalled 23 928, which reflects an increase of 1 438 units or 6.4% increase over April last year. A notable drop byFord South Africa was due to a run out of the Fiesta, Ecosport and Figo models as it expects to launch new models in the next few months. As a result, Ford nearly dropped to 4th in total sales but was propped up by strong Ranger sales.

Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) sales declined marginally by 1.2% while exports registered a marginal gain of 0.8%.

New Car Sales Summary for March 2018

Aggregate new car sales of 36 346 up by 3.6% (+1 260 units) compared to April 2017

New passenger car sales of 23 928 up by 6.4% (+1 438 units) compared to April 2017

LCV sales of 10 707 down by 1.2% (-127 units) compared to April 2017

Export sales of 24 229 up by 0.8% (+193 units) compared to April 2017

Most popular car brands in SA for March 2018

Toyota: 8 213 units sold with a market share of 22.6%

Volkswagen: 6 261 units sold with a market share of 17.2%

Ford: 3 570 units sold with a market share of 9.8%

Nissan: 3 403 units sold with a market share of 9.4%

Hyundai: 2 633 units sold with a market share of 7.2%

Most popular new cars in SA for March 2018

Toyota Hilux – 2 679 units

Ford Ranger – 2 372 units

Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2 143 units

Volkswagen Polo – 1 907 units

Isuzu KB – 1 071 units

Sales Outlook

NAAMSA expected new vehicle sales to show steady improvement over the medium term due to further recovery in domestic demand supported by continued moderation in new vehicle price inflation, rising real disposable consumer income, recent improvement in South Africa’s political and policy environment, lower interest rates and the maintenance of an investment grade rating with a stable outlook by a major credit ratings agency. As a result of these developments – reinforced by improved business and consumer confidence, as well as increases in the Reserve Bank leading indicator – economic growth for 2018, could recover to around 2% and this, in turn, would benefit domestic new vehicle sales over the balance of the year and an annual improvement of domestic sales volumes of 3% plus compared to 2017 was expected.

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