New sales improve in October

THERE was a spike in new sales last month, with 45 966 new vehicles purchased in South Africa. This is a 4 715-unit (11.4%) improvement over the same month last year.

That number includes passenger vehicles, plus all commercials in the form of trucks.

This is according to the Automotive Business Council (Naamsa), the organisation that keeps track of new vehicle sales countrywide.

Toyota took the biggest slice of the market, at 12 574 vehicles sold, comfortably extending its margin over VW in second place with 4 904 sales.

Automotive exports also jumped by 4 101 units (16.1%) in comparison to October 2021, a total of 29 508 cars being shipped out of South Africa.

Mercedes-Benz was the winner in the export field, with 8 075 C-Class sedans shipped out of the brand's East London factory

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Electric vehicle market

Naamsa recently held its inaugural SA Auto Week, which focused on the automotive sector’s continued sustainability and move to electric vehicles, with many key stakeholders taking part.

According to Naamsa, as the European markets become more challenging for exports, South Africa needs to push to make the African Continental Free Trade Area a reality as this will accelerate development across the African market and drive industrialisation of the continent.

Additionally, consumers must embrace the opportunities that hybrid and electric vehicles offer beyond the automotive sector, such as decentralised solar power generation and energy storage solutions.

"We urgently need to address our structural challenges [energy, infrastructure, labour, transportation] as they continue to threaten our global competitiveness," continued the Naamsa statement.

Of the total reported new vehicle sales in the country in October, an estimated 82.6% represented dealer sales, 13.1% sales to the vehicle rental industry, 2.4% sales to the government, and 1.9% sales to industry corporate fleets.

The passenger car segment experienced a gain of 10.4% over 2021, strongly supported by the car rental industry which accounted for 17.4% of all purchases.

The light commercial vehicle segment, which includes bakkies and mini-buses, also saw a welcome jump of 14.3% in sales.

Sales for the medium and heavy commercial segments continued the upward momentum, reflecting a positive performance during the month. There was a 29.9% increase in sales of medium commercial vehicles, and 3.7% in the case of heavy commercial vehicles.

Best-selling car brands for October:

1. Toyota – 12 574

2. Volkswagen – 4 904

3. Suzuki Auto – 4 112

4. Nissan – 3 011

5. Hyundai – 2 703

6. Haval – 2 602

7. Ford – 2 458

8. Isuzu – 2 187

9. Renault – 2 011

10. Kia – 1 780