Naamsa has published their January 2023 report which showcases a positive start to 2023 while highlighting some obstacles facing the industry with load-shedding logically having the most significant impact according to Naamsa.
Many of the persistent issues hindering South Africa in 2022 have been carried over into the new year with the automotive industry cautiously finding its feet despite an unstable economic environment.
“Loadshedding is the biggest inhibitor to drive the industry’s localisation ambitions, create sustainable jobs within the auto sector and to further attract investment opportunities into the country to grow the South African economy” – Mikel Mabasa, Naamsa CEO
Domestic new vehicle sales saw an increase of 4,8% (an uptake of 2 006 units equating to a total of 43 509) compared to the 41 503 units sold in 2022. Dealers represented 84% of total reported industry sales (36 353 of the total 43 509) with the vehicle rental industry representing 12,1% of the overall sales. While there was a slight increase in sales, South Africa’s established vehicle export sector saw a decline of 1,8% (367 units).
Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles and bakkies increased by 10,4% representing a difference of 998 units more than the 9 624 vehicles sold in 2022. The new passenger car market reports an increase of 2,9%, 2023’s January report highlights a difference of 873 more cars sold in 2023 than in the previous year. Naamsa reports that Toyota saw the most vehicles sold in 2023 with a total of 12 532 units sold locally and 7 532 units sold for exports.
“The weak performance of the new vehicle market during the first month of the year is in line with expectations of a depressed economy along with ongoing structural problems and cost of living increases. The same challenges that confronted the economy and the automotive industry in 2022, such as persistent load-shedding, high inflation and interest rates, and currency depreciation have been carried over into 2023”