THURSDAY, 9.30AM
NEW passenger car sales in November crashed 29% against the same month last year, according to latest figures published by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA. Local car makers sold 16 605 new passenger cars in November, the lowest number since 1991 and nearly a third fewer than the 23 677 units sold in November 1996.
Month-on-month, the November’s sales were down 21% on October’s 21 024 units. Overall, the passenger car market over the first 11 months of this year shows a 3,8% decline against the same period last year.
The sales slump has been attributed to the general slowdown in the economy, while the recent uncertainty on equity markets and a new national registration system may also have played their part.
Passenger car sales were not the only ones to fall — light commercial vehicles sales fell 21,8% to 8 576 compared to last November, and 21,2% down on October’s sales. Heavy commercial vehicle sales, which had begun to show signs of recovery, fell back into their previous slump, while the only signs of buoyancy came from medium commercial sales, which increased by eight units to 504.