Growth in new vehicle sales continued unabated with sales in November showing a 32,1% increase over sales during the same month in 2003. A total of 41 663 vehicles were sold during November, which brings the year’s sales to date to 413 639 units.
On a year to date basis, this shows growth of 20.8% over the same period in 2003.
“Once again, sales exceeded expectations in all segments of the market,” said Brand Pretorius, chairman of McCarthy Motor Holdings. “Enhanced affordability and surging consumer confidence continues to drive up car sales.”
Passenger vehicle sales totalled 27 894 units, a 29,7% increase on November 2003.
“The bulk of the growth in the passenger vehicle market has come from the light and medium segments of the market,” said Pretorius. “Year-on-year sales of popular cars has increased by just over 36%, compared to the rather modest 8% growth in the sales of entry-level cars.
“It is also interesting to note that despite the current buoyant market conditions, sales of luxury cars have declined by 4% for the year to date.”
November car sales also benefited from strong demand from the car rental sector, as well as the many attractive offers from some manufacturers and importers.
Light commercial vehicles made a strong showing, selling 11 692 units during November, a 36,9% increase on November last year. Medium commercial vehicle sales were up 40% over November 2003 sales, totalling 865 units. The heavy commercial vehicle segment also improved by 35,7% to 1 212 units, if compared to the same month last year.
“Higher levels of economic activity and business confidence are boosting the sales of the commercial vehicle sector,” said Pretorius. “The minibus segment in particular has shown exceptional growth. It is estimated that the average age of the South African minibus taxi fleet now exceeds 12 years, which brought on a strong replacement demand from taxi owners.
“However, the combined impact of new vehicle price deflation and the abundance of special offers, has led to a significant slowdown in used vehicle sales,” said Pretorius. “In fact, in contrast to the new vehicle market which is up by 20% so far this year, the used vehicle market has shown no growth.”
Pretorius says that this shift from used to new vehicles has given rise to a significant decline in trade-in values, and a build-up of excessive used vehicle inventories at dealer level.
“Dealers are consequently adopting a very cautious approach when trading in vehicles, which could slow down new car sales to a certain extent.
“December sales will undoubtedly be affected by seasonal trends, but even taking that into account, it is a foregone conclusion that 2004 will go into the record books as the best year ever for the South Africa new vehicle market.
Toyota President and CEO, Johan van Zyl, said: “During the year we have continually raised the forecast for the year with 450 000 a possibility after mid-year. Even that forecast now seems conservative with sales of over 455 000 possible considering the continued high level of confidence and strong economic fundamentals.
“Within that market Toyota is on track to deliver more than 110 000 units into the domestic market for the year as the company completes its 25th year of market leadership in South Africa. Strong demand has resulted in some stock shortages but we have an aggressive programme in place with our plant working extra shifts over weekends to meet demand as we head towards year end.
“The market continues to favour buyers, especially those from the private sector, with exciting new products on offer and aggressive marketing campaigns with added-value incentives available. We expect continued pricing stability, while current economic data suggests that we could see another interest-rate reduction. The positive trend is expected to continue into 2005.”
Toyota achieved a 25,2% market share in November with 10 519 sales. The Corolla family contributed 3 373 to this number (over 12% of all passenger vehicle sales) as South Africa’s number-one selling vehicle. The Hilux secured the second place on the overall sales log for Toyota with 2 564 sales for the month, a full 1 000 units clear of its nearest competitor. In the medium commercial sector the Dyna was again the class leader with 245 of the segment total of 865 for the month. In the combined medium and heavy commercial market Toyota came in a strong second just 27 units short of the top seller.
National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa total new vehicle sales for November 2004:
Toyota 10 519; Volkswagen 7 002; General Motors SA 5 356; Ford 4 686; Nissan 4 053; Daimlerchrysler 3 695; BMW 1 754; Renault 1,305; Peugeot 857; Fiat SA 790; Honda 401; Daimlerchrysler MB 335; Tata 234; Nissan Diesel 286; Man Truck & Bus 221; Volvo Trucks 135; Subaru 101; Scania 86; Iveco 65; Tyco International 56; Tyco DAF; 33; Daimlerchrysler MIT 30; Daimlerchrysler FL 30; Porsche 22; ERF 5; Renault Trucks 1; Daimlerchrysler Fuso 1.
Total November industry sales: 2004 41 663; 2003 31 550. – I-Net Bridge