The latest Naamsa reports show that April proved a disastrous month for new car sales, during which only 26 283 units were sold – a 43 percent decrease on the figures for April 2008, and the lowest monthly sales since December 2003, when 23 040 vehicles were sold.
By Kyle Kock
But the 27,6 percent slowdown verses March 2009 can be attributed to the limited number of selling days (due to the three standard public holidays), the added attention on the national and general elections (another public holiday), coincidence of term-end school holidays and pre-price increase buying in March – all of which resulted in shortened working weeks throughout the month.
Hit particularly hard was the commercial vehicle segment, with a sales decline of almost 50 percent on April 2008. Light commercial vehicles recorded a 49.5 percent drop in sales, totaling 8 024 units in April. A decrease of 45,9 percent brought the medium commercial vehicle segment to a total of 691 units. A total of only 820 heavy commercial vehicles was retailed during April, a significant drop of 60,9 percent. Extra Heavy Commercial Vehicle Segment bore the brunt of the poor sales month, reflecting a 67, 9 percent loss of sales.
Despite the gloomy sales recorded in April, Brand Pretorius, chairman of McCarthy Motor holdings, believes major sports events like Indian Premier League Cricket, Confederations Cup Soccer, British Lions Rugby tour, and FIFA Soccer World Cup, as well as a smooth declined in inflation and drop in the interest rate are indicators that business will pick up in the months ahead.
“I believe we have now reached the lowest point in terms of monthly sales, and I am confident that we’ll see a gradual improvement going forward,” stated Pretorius.
“Taking all of these factors into consideration, we foresee an improved second half of the year. On a year-to-date basis, the total market reflects a drop of 36,4 percent to 201 473 units, but it is anticipated that sales for the full year should not be down more than 30 percent on sales recorded in 2008,” said Pretorius.
“April is a notoriously poor sales month because of all the public holidays. This year, the challenge was exacerbated by the National Elections, which further reduced the number of selling days”, says Jacques Brent, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa.”We were always expecting a challenging sales month during April and not too much should be read into last month’s figures given the lack of sales days”, he continued.
“However, despite the fact that this data indicates the continuation of difficult economic circumstances for some months to come with ongoing pressure on employment levels, developments are taking place that will begin easing the pressure on households and businesses during the third and the fourth quarters of 2009 and into early 2010,” said Volkswagen of South Africa Sales and Marketing director Mike Glendinning.
“Sales during May 2009 will provide a clearer indicator of the 2009 year to date sales trends. At this stage it is too early to call, but cautious optimism could underpin the outlook for the SA economy over the next few months with a combination of continued relief with interest rates, further decreases in the cost of fuel and stable political climate following a great turnout at the election,” said Malcolm Gauld, General Motors South Africa vice president of Sales and Marketing.
Download a summary of the latest new vehicle sales statistics as supplied by Naamsa.