New-car sales show resilience
New-vehicle sales are showing “real resilience” and could recover faster than many people expect, Cyril Zhungu, Standard Bank’s head of automotive retail finance, said on Thursday. The latest sales figures show that 37,403 cars and commercial vehicles were sold in September.
New-vehicle sales are showing real resilience and could recover faster than many people expect, Cyril Zhungu, Standard Bank s head of automotive retail finance, said on Thursday.
He was speaking after the publication of the latest sales figures, showing that 37,403 cars and commercial vehicles were sold in September. That was 23.9% fewer than in September 2019. Aggregate sales for the first nine months of 2020, at 265,412, were down 33.4% from 398,290 in 2019. September car sales of 22,798 were 31.2% weaker than the previous September. For 2020 they were down 34.4%.
Zhungu said people should not fixate on year-on-year comparisons but acknowledge improvements. September s23.9% month-on-month deficit was the smallest since March and less than a quarter of April s 98% meltdown after the start of the Covid-19 lockdown.
He said: What stands out for me is not where we are relative to last year but where we are relative to recent months. I have been impressed by the way the motor industry has responded to growing demand.”
September outsold August by more than 4,000 vehicles. In midyear, even after lockdown had started to ease, some analysts suggested the full-year market could be up to 50% smaller than in 2019. Most now think the deficit will be 30%35%. Zhungu believes it could go even lower. A couple of good months he thinks monthly sales could achieve 40,000 by year-end could breach 30%.
Mike Mabasa, CEO of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA, on Thursday appealed to the government to reduce taxes on new vehicles.
Combined with record low interest rates and low inflation, the automotive industry and the economy in general could hugely benefit should the tax burden be reduced,” he said. September s numbers show that the car rental industry is starting to come out of its shell. Having contributed 0.04% to new-car sales in August, its share rose to 5.7% in September as travel restrictions eased.
The downturn in vehicle exports also slowed in September. At 28,704, they were 20.9% weaker than the corresponding month in 2019. For the year to September, exports totalled 185,984, which was 37.5% below the same stage last year.
Further recovery will depend on how quickly major export destinations overcome their latest Covid waves. A report by S&P Global Ratings predicts global new-vehicle sales will fall 20% this year.