Zululand Observer - Weekender

New sales improve in October

- Val van der Walt

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

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