SA’s best-selling cars in glum November
Toyota leads again in market that dips 9.8% compared to November last year, writes Denis Droppa
New-vehicle sales suffered their biggest losses during November since the beginning of 2021 when the market was beginning its slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to figures released by industry body Naamsa, SA’s new-vehicle sales dropped 9.8% year on year to 45,075 units in November, the sixth month of declining sales this year and the fourth consecutive month of negative growth.
Consumers had their third respite from further interest rate increases in November when the Reserve Bank held interest rates unchanged. But the general outlook remains for a high interest rate environment to continue impacting household debt until the middle of next year, according to Lebo Gaoaketse, head of marketing and communication at WesBank.
Passenger cars, at 29,384 units, registered a 12.1% drop last month compared to November 2022, while light commercial vehicles (including bakkies and minibuses) declined 3.9% to 12,941 units.
The downturn was attributed to a confluence of global unrest, political uncertainty, increased load-shedding and logistical challenges at ports, roads and railways.
ATTRACTIVE OFFERS
Despite attractive consumer offers and efforts to reduce stock levels before year-end, November’s sales performance was disappointing, said Brandon Cohen, national chair of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (Nada).
“Even with increased interest in long-term leasing and steppayment financial programmes, these incentives failed to attract significant numbers of buyers.”
Despite the downturn, yearto-date vehicle sales stand at 491,967 units after 11 months, still 0.8% higher than the comparable period last year.
“The challenge now is whether December sales can sustain this slim annual growth,” said Cohen.
Toyota retained its position as the country’s most popular brand in November, ahead of Volkswagen and Suzuki.
The country’s two best-selling new vehicles were bakkies, with the Toyota Hilux taking the top spot ahead of the Ford Ranger. The Volkswagen Polo
Vivo was the best-selling passenger car, pipping the Toyota Corolla Cross.