MOTOR BRIEFS
NEW-CAR SALES RECOVER BUT BAKKIES BOMB
Local new-vehicle sales recovered somewhat last month after January’s 8.1% decline, but the claimed improvement involved some guesswork after MercedesBenz joined BMW in reporting its sales on a quarterly instead of monthly basis going forward.
This is in line with both companies’ global directives.
Providing estimates for BMW’s and Mercedes’s sales, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) reported that 43,485 new vehicles were sold in February 2020, which was just 0.7% down on February 2019, providing a confidence boost in the market after January’s plummet.
Passenger car sales were up an encouraging 7.6% to 29,665 units last month compared to February 2019, but new-bakkie sales tumbled 17.7% to 11,625 units in a sector that closely reflects business confidence levels.
Sales in the medium and heavy truck segments performed relatively well at 686 units (up 3.8%) and 1,509 units (up 3.7%) respectively compared to February last year.
February is traditionally the first realistic picture of the year’s outlook for sales, as January is skewed by the holiday season, says Wesbank’s head of marketing and communication, Lebogang Gaoaketse.
“The economic outlook for the country isn’t going to give the market an easy ride. While consumers were shown some relief in the budget in income tax terms, increases in toll fees and fuel levies will continue driving the total cost of ownership up, forcing consumers to be increasingly vigilant about their discretionary spend,” says Gaoaketse.
“Simply put: if there is an opportunity for consumers to defer vehicle purchases, we expect them to do so.”
Despite the drop in lightcommercial vehicle sales, SA’s best-selling vehicle was a bakkie, with the Toyota Hilux occupying its regular spot at the top of the February 2020 list. The VW Polo Vivo and its modern Polo counterpart were respectively the best-selling passenger cars ahead of the Ford Figo and Renault Kwid.
After lighting up the sales charts since its launch late last year, sales of the VW T-Cross took a dip in the competitive compact SUV market, at least in part due to the recent introduction of rivals such as the Kia Seltos and Hyundai Venue, which both feature in the top-30 best sellers list.