Huge dip in new car sales last month
Heavy trucks only vehicles to come out smiling
NEW car sales took their biggest hammering of the year last month‚ plunging 20.6% compared with July last year. In so doing‚ they dragged down the combined new vehicle market by 17%.
For the first seven months of the year‚ the total market is 11% weaker than for the same period last year.
Marketers are starting to think they may have underestimated the crash when‚ in January‚ they forecast the full-year market would shrink 12%.
Figures released yesterday by the Department of Trade and Industry showed last month’s new car sales were 29 007‚ down from 36 527 a year earlier.
It was not the only market sector to suffer.
Sales of light commercial vehicles‚ mainly bakkies‚ fell 9.9%‚ medium commercials 13.9% and extra-heavy trucks 13.2%.
The only vehicles to come out smiling were heavy trucks‚ up 7%.
As a result‚ the total new vehicle market fell to 44 883 from 54 105.
For the year to last month‚ new vehicle sales totalled 317 357‚ compared with 356 742.
Vehicle exports offered some hope last month‚ growing 2.4% to 29 042 from 28 358.
For the year so far‚ however‚ they still lag last year by 0.3% and time is running out for the export surge predicted by manufacturers.
No one doubts that the full-year figure will set a new record, but the scale may not be what some expected.
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) said it expected the final figure to be about 351 000‚ compared with last year’s 333 802.
As recently as May‚ the suggested figure was 376 000.
Naamsa said of domestic sales: “Based on the industry’s general outlook and prevailing macro-economic conditions‚ the balance of 2016 is likely to continue to be characterised by low economic growth and increased pressure on consumers’ disposable income.
“This was again despite a strong contribution by the car rental industry, which had accounted for 18.5% of new cars sold during the month.”
“The lower levels of new vehicle sales represented a reflection of current difficult economic conditions in South Africa,” the association said.
Naamsa said the decline in the latest Purchasing Managers Index also did not augur well for short-to medium-term prospects. – BDlive