/ 3 November 2009

New vehicle sales fall 12,5%

South Africa’s total industry new vehicle sales declined by 12,5% year-on-year to 36 082 units in October, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Naamsa) said on Tuesday.

When stripping out sales from Associated Motor Holdings and Amalgamated Automobile Distributors — which report separately — sales fell by 16,9% to 31 622 units compared with October last year, Naamsa said.

Vehicle sales remain weak, having been in decline for more than two years, knocked by soft domestic demand, but the rate of decline is slowing, suggesting the industry the worst for the industry may now be in the past.

Exports were down 25,4% year-on-year in October at 20 948 vehicles. — Reuters