Vehicle sales in 2007 are likely to move sideways or register modest growth, Johan van Zyl, president of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), said on Tuesday.
He said that while 2006 had been an outstanding record year in terms of new-vehicle sales, this year will be ”more challenging”.
He, however, said production was projected to reach record levels during 2007 due to major export programmes.
His predictions came as Naamsa released ”subdued” sales figures for December 2006.
In total, 49 283 new vehicles were sold in December 2006, compared with the previous year’s figure of 45 770 vehicles sold.
For the year as a whole, the industry had achieved a record domestic-sales total of 714 340 vehicles — an improvement of 96 934 vehicles, or 15,7%, compared with total aggregate sales of 617 406 units recorded for 2005.
Van Zyl said the key indicators of performance in 2007 would be the direction of interest rates and new vehicle pricing. — Sapa