CAPE TOWN: The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) on Monday reported a 6.1% year-on-year (y/y) decline in new vehicle sales for July 2015.
New vehicle sales totaled 54,112, down from 57,636 in July last year. Of these an estimated 82.4% represented dealer sales, 11.1% sales to the vehicle rental industry, 3.4% to industry corporate fleets and 3.1% to government. Commenting on the data, Naamsa said: “The slowdown in domestic new vehicle sales continued during the month with new car and heavy truck sales registering substantial declines compared to the corresponding month last year.
New car sales registered the largest year-to-date monthly decline. In contrast, export sales of new motor vehicles continued to record strong year-on-year gains.” Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and mini buses came in at 15,090 units, reflecting a marginal improvement of 0.7%. In the medium and heavy truck segments, falls amounted to 1.6% and 6.3%, respectively.
Naamsa said vehicle exports “continued to reflect upward momentum and were increasingly contributing positively to SA’s current account of the balance of payments. New vehicle exports had risen by 24.4% to 28,291 units. “Vehicle exports for 2015 remained on target to improve, in annual terms, by about 20% to a projected industry record export number of about 330,000 for the year,” the association said.
