Take a look at new car sales in South Africa for November 2021 as released by naamsa | The Automotive Business Council.

November was a challenging month for car sales with multiple bouts of loadshedding affecting the manufacturers and persistent Covid19 challenges. The new vehicle market showed resilience and continued to show positive growth over the last 12 months.

A strong showing from the rental companies, which are stocking up in hope of a tourism uptick over the December period accounted for some 15.6% of passenger car sales.

New Car Sales in SA for November 2021

Aggregate new vehicle sales of 41 588 units up by 6.6% (+2 573 units) compared to November 2020.New passenger car sales of 27 828 units up by 9.4% (+2 406 units) compared to November 2020.LCV sales of 11 156 units down by 0.8% (-90 units) compared to November 2020.Export sales of 19 548 units down by 42.2% (-14 277 units) compared to November 2020.

Best-Selling Car Brands in South Africa

Toyota – 11 892 unitsVolkswagen – 5 498 unitsSuzuki – 3 082 unitsHyundai – 2 869 unitsNissan – 2 328 unitsFord – 2 245 unitsIsuzu – 2 157 unitsKia – 2 062 unitsHaval – 1 730 unitsMahindra – 825 units

New Car Sales Outlook

Courtesy of naamsa – Despite several challenges during the month, including the first interest rate hike in three years, sustained load-shedding, and a new Omicron Covid-19 variant that has sparked global alarm, the new vehicle market continued to show resilience on its gradual recovery path during the month. The rental companies supported passenger car sales over recent months, but the travel bans imposed on South Africa due to the Omicron variant could unfortunately once again negate the support received by the market via this channel. With the added inflationary pressures of the record-high fuel prices and prospects of further interest rate increases,

businesses and consumers will undoubtedly remain under financial pressure. The November ABSA Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reflected a more than 5-point decline for the index measuring expected business conditions highlighting that the economy remains fragile as the pace of economic recovery is expected to slow down substantially in 2022. Vehicle exports continued their five-month downward trajectory in line with the ongoing Covid-19 related supply chain disruptions impacting on vehicle production and exports as well as the impact of a severe Covid-19 fourth wave in parts of Europe, a key export market for domestic vehicle manufacturers. Prospects over the short to medium term, however, remain positive as vehicle exports are anticipated to benefit from various new model introductions by major vehicle exporters in 2021 and 2022 as well as increased demand linked to the favourable economic conditions abroad.