A total of 53 805 new vehicles were sold (as reported by Naamsa and AMH) in South Africa during January. Not only was last month’s sales aggregate 22,7 per cent higher than the total achieved during the same period last year, it also set an all-time record for the month of January, McCarthy Motor Holdings chairman, Brand Pretorius, says.

According to sales figures released by Naamsa on Thursday, last month’s sales total had increased by 3 085 units (6,7 per cent) compared with December 2005’s aggregate of 45 770. January’s new car sales (34 278 units) reflected an improvement of 18,6 per cent compared with the 28 910 passenger vehicles sold during January last year. Factoring in the 4 141 new car sales not reported in detail through Naamsa, January’s new car market had grown by 6 809 units (21,5 per cent) compared with the same month last year.

“This new January record augurs well for the rest of the calendar year,” said Pretorius. “One of the major contributors to the positive growth experienced in January is that manufacturers and dealers have better overall stock availability than was the case at the beginning of 2005. And, a significant number of passenger vehicle sales were carried over from December to January in order to give customers the benefit of the new model year registration.

“The car market, in particular, is still characterised by aggressive marketing activities and a high incidence of special offers in a highly-competitive market,” he added.

Sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses (12 651 units) improved by 2 435 units (23,8 per cent) compared with the 10 216 units sold during the same month last year.

Supported by positive investment sentiment, sales of vehicles in the medium and heavy truck segments of the industry had also started the year on a high note. With sales of 857 units and 1 069 units, respectively, the market recorded an improvement of 121 units (16,4 per cent), in the case of medium commercials, and an exceptional 307 units (40,3 per cent), in the case of heavy trucks and buses – compared with the corresponding month last year.

Naamsa predicted that the growth trend established in 2005 would continue for the time being with some consolidation during the second half of the year. Following an improvement in aggregate Naamsa new vehicle sales of 25,7 per cent during 2005, industry projections for 2006, at this stage, anticipated an improvement in aggregate sales for the year of about 10 per cent.

Comment from manufacturers and automotive retail groups:

“For the third year running, no price increases were announced in January – something that is a good sign of the current level of vehicle affordability in the country,” said McCarthy Motor Holdings chairman Brand Pretorius. “A 9,2 per cent increase on overall vehicle sales (Naamsa and non-reporters included) is expected in 2006, which will take the SA vehicle market to 675 000 units”.

Volkswagen South Africa reported sales of 7 218 passenger units in January 2006 - 31 per cent up on sales recorded in January last year.

"Sales for the Audi Brand were an extraordinary 48 per cent up on January 2005 with 1 094 luxury units sold last month," VWSA’s new sales and marketing director, Mike Glendinning, said. "With business and consumer confidence at historically high levels, and with growth in new car prices remaining firmly in negative territory, conditions are in place to support ongoing buoyancy in the economy and in demand for new passenger cars”.

General Motors SA sales and marketing director Malcolm Gauld commented: “We were pleased with the sales results of two Chevrolet models – the Spark and Lumina Ute, both of which performed above expectations. The Opel Corsa Utility (is still) one of the company’s top performers, and again dominated the sub-one ton LCV market during January with total sales of 1271 units”.
“Passenger vehicles continued to show strong growth during January, which is often considered a slow month with stock availability at its lowest due to year-end plant shutdowns. In spite of stock shortages sales figures have remained high,” said Nigel Harris, FMCSA vice president for marketing and sales.

“We are delighted with the performance of the Ford brand during the month of January. At 4 137 units the Ford brand has shown a substantial growth of 48 per cent over the same period last year, more than double that of the industry average,” he added.

“Nissan’s January results were encouraging, with X-Trail maintaining its status as the country’s top-selling SUV and the recently introduced Navara making a useful contribution to total sales. With the introduction of new product in 2006, in both the passenger and LCV segments, we are confident we will achieve our overall objectives and increase our market share this year,” said Nissan SA director of sales and marketing, Roel de Vries.

Click here to download a summary of the latest new vehicle sales statistics as supplied by Naamsa.

Please note that because the sales figures supplied here have not yet been audited, MIND will not archive them. To access audited new vehicle sales figures for previous months, consult www.rgt.co.za.