Naamsa reports that South Africa new vehicle sales for February 2011 improvement by 25,5 per cent compared with the corresponding month last year.
The amount of units sold rose from 39 284 in February last year to 49 164 in 2011. These numbers include new car as well as medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales.
In its monthly statement, Naamsa said that “the current strength in the market reflected the strong underlying momentum and it was encouraging that total industry sales for the first two months of 2011 were 21,9 per cent ahead of the corresponding two months in 2010”.
The organisation believes that the positive growth can be attributed to special incentive sales packages offered by a number of manufacturers/importers during the month of February.
New car sales has grown from 25 979 in February 2010 to 34 056 this year. New Light Commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses reflected an improvement of 1 307 units or 11 per cent over this time last year, as well as a 21,8 per cent growth from January 2011. The new CO2 tax on double-cab light commercial vehicles has just kicked in, so we’ll see how this affects the next month’s sales.
Sales of vehicles in the medium and heavy truck segments of the industry, with the exception of the bus segment, continues to show positive growth with Febraury 2011 sales registering at 861 units and 1 393 units, respectively – an improvement of 45,9 per cent in the case of medium commercials and 19,3 per cent in the case of heavy trucks and buses when compared with the corresponding month last year.
Manufacturers commentary:
Ford: “February sales showed a continued momentum, despite it being a short selling month,” said FMCSA’s Vice President Marketing, Sales and Service, Dean Stoneley. “Despite the 2011 market returning to some normalcy after potentially skewed January sales, February sales showed just what a strong potential this year’s sales have.”
FMCSA’s strong LCV month was bolstered by yet another Top Three passenger car sales performance. The company’s popular Figo remains firmly planted in the South African industry’s Top 10 sales performers, continuing to endear itself to the country’s buoyant entry-level market.
GMSA: Highlights for GMSA during February were 798 and 758 sales respectively for the Chevrolet Aveo and Cruze to place them in the top ten list of passenger vehicles. In the Light commercial sector GMSA maintained its strong number two position in the sector with the Corsa Utility achieving sales of 1 444 units and the Isuzu KB 1 263 Isuzu for a market share in the sector of 21,4 per cent.
Total sales for GMSA of 5 673 vehicles produced an overall market share of 11,5 per cent for the month.
Toyota: Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) grew its market share in key segments, retaining its market leadership in light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles as well as its position as the largest exporter of vehicles in the country.
Vehicle exports nearly doubled to 25 129 units for the month, while TSAM represented a third of all vehicles exported as 9 152 new Fortuner, Hilux and Corolla models was sent to markets across Europe and Africa. The growth in vehicle exports signifies a stabilisation in vehicle production following labour instability in August 2010.
“February sales were very encouraging as virtually all market segments through all channels grew significantly. This included sales through the dealer network and to the rental and government segments,” says Dr. Johan van Zyl, President and chief executive of TSAM and a Managing Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC).
Click on the DOCUMENTS tab to download the new vehicle sales statistics for February 2011.
