Company’s sales have slid in past few years

GENERAL Motors South Africa (GMSA) has steadily lost significant sales volumes and overall market share in South Africa in the past few years.

Faced with ongoing challenges in the country’s economic environment, domestic passenger vehicle sales have declined substantially.

According to data published by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), total passenger vehicle sales for last month were 22 462 units.

By “best months” comparison, the industry sold 45 765 units during August 2006, 44 794 in June 2006 and 44 259 in September 2006.

According to Naamsa’s latest figures, GMSA last month sold 730 passenger vehicles, 407 of which were Chevrolets and 323 were Opels.

By comparison, Bay manufacturer Volkswagen Group South Africa sold 5 241passenger cars last month, 4 538 of which were Volkswagens and 705 were Audis.

Toyota sold more than 4 000 passenger vehicles while Ford Motor Company sold more than 2 300 during the same period.

During April 2011, GMSA commanded a third-place market share ranking among motor manufacturers in South Africa and held 12% of the domestic market.

That month, it achieved total sales of 6 408 units. Of those, 2 024 were Chevrolet passenger vehicles.