Commercial vehicle sales revving up

● New vehicle sales this year are off to a good start with medium and heavy commercial vehicles showing eyepopping growth of 24.6% and 6.5% respectively.

After years of stunted growth in these sectors, the sudden demand may be as a result of a number of factors with population growth and increasing urbanisation being among them.

Commenting on the latest commercial vehicle sales statistics, head of Park Village Auctions’ (PVA’s) asset recovery division, LeRoy Augustyn, speculates that the growth may also be due to widespread fleet renewals as owners have sweated their assets for some years and may feel the timing is right to renew and upgrade.

National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), results show that the year is off to a good start, and in many ways this reflects the figures of PVA’s last truck and trailer auction, held on January 31.

Augustyn said: “The demand for commercial vehicles is apparent, and not limited to new vehicle sales. This is typical at this time of year as fleet managers gear up for the new financial year. It seems that transport and logistics companies on the whole are doing well but purchasers are still exercising prudence, looking to offset costs as they grow and upgrade their fleets. They know that auctions represent a viable way to acquire lower-than-dealer rates.”

PVA will host their next commercial vehicle auction on Thursday where a variety of trucks, trailers, agricultural and yellow metal equipment will be on the block. The auction starts at 10.30am at PVA’s truck yard, gate number two of the Nasrec expo centre in Johannesburg.