The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) today released the positive results of new vehicle sales for the month of April – which was in line with the industry expectation and displayed gains over the corresponding period last year, but suffered a bit due to the public holidays.
Although aggregate industry domestic sales had improved by 2 859 units or 8 per cent to 38 566 vehicles from 35 707 units sold during April last year – total domestic sales for the first four months of 2011 were 10 per cent ahead of the corresponding four months in 2010. This subdued momentum is attributed to the number of public holidays in April and the structure of working weeks.
Export sales also reflected more subdued growth momentum and at 19 826 vehicles for April, 2011 had shown an improvement of 12,7 per cent compared to the corresponding month last year. Overall, out of total industry reported sales of 38 566 vehicles, 87 per cent or 33 541 units represented dealer sales, 5,8 per cent industry corporate fleet sales, 5,5 per cent represented sales to the car rental industry and 1,7 per cent sales to government.
Aggregate industry new car sales during April 2011 at 26 347 units reflected an improvement of 2 769 new cars or 11,7 per cent compared to the 23 578 new cars sold during April, 2010. The higher sales of new cars over the past 16 months reflected a robust recovery on the consumption side of the South African economy driven by the six and a half per cent decline in interest rates since December, 2008 which had improved the financial position of consumers and businesses and reduced the debt servicing costs of households and companies. Concerns about future availability of Japanese products, affected by the natural disasters in Japan, may also have contributed to some pre-emptive buying in the month.
Sales of industry new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses at 10 294 units during April, 2011 reflected a reduction of 263 units or -2,5 per cent compared to the 10 557 units sold in the corresponding month last year.
Expectations of higher growth in the global economy as well as for the South African economy in 2011 should lend support to domestic and export sales of new motor vehicles. Continued growth in consumer expenditure and public sector infrastructural investment would also support domestic new vehicle sales.
However, the inflation outlook had deteriorated, amongst other things, as a result of administered price and taxation increases. This could put upward pressure on interest rates towards the end of 2011 and into 2012. Over the medium term, component and vehicle stock shortages, as a result of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, could also have a negative, but hopefully temporary impact on domestic sales and exports.
Moreover, vehicle manufacturers worldwide could be expected to review their respective supply chain strategies to reduce the risks associated with unforeseen events and disruptions.
Manufacturer performance can be viewed by downloading the PDF to the right of the image above
