Naamsa confirms that new vehicle sales saw a noteworthy increase for the month of September 2021. This comes as a continuation of a gradual recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic started but knock-on effects of looting disruptions and the cyberattack on Transnet operations were still visible on vehicle exports.
Aggregate domestic new vehicle sales in September 2021, at 43 130 units, reflected an increase of 5 893 units, or 15,8 per cent, from the 37 237 vehicles sold in September 2020. Export sales recorded a decline of 16 188 units, or 57,0 per cent, to 12 202 units in September 2021 compared to the 28 390 vehicles exported in September 2020.
Overall, out of the total reported industry sales of 43 130 vehicles, an estimated 35 684 units, or 82,7 per cent, represented dealer sales, an estimated 12,4 per cent represented sales to the vehicle rental industry, 2,5 per cent sales to government and 2,4 per cent to industry corporate fleets, Naamsa notes.
The September 2021 new passenger car market at 29 538 units had registered an increase of 6 895 cars, or a gain of 30,5 per cent, compared to the 22 643 new cars sold in September 2020. The car rental industry supported the new passenger car market during the month and accounted for a solid 16,8 per cent of car sales in September 2021.
Naamsa notes that the knock-on effects of the economic disruptions caused by the civil unrest in July 2021 and the cyberattack on Transnet operations continued to impact on the industry’s export performance during the month. Much will depend on the last quarter of the year’s export performance on how quickly the industry could return to pre-COVID-19 record vehicle export levels.
