Johannesburg – Last month saw South African new vehicle sales increase by a healthy 10.1% compared to May 2022, but this was led by surging bakkie sales.
While the light commercial market was perhaps skewed by a few unusual factors (read more on that and see the top sellers here) the completely flat performance of the passenger vehicle market was perhaps a symptom of a weak economy that’s struggling with a perfect storm of negative factors.
Passenger vehicle sales increased by just 0.1% year-on-year, but that is perhaps a little encouraging given how affordability has come under immense pressure from rising interest rates and vehicle prices on the back of a weak rand that’s testing the $20 mark.
Nonetheless, the usual front runners enjoyed consistently strong sales figures in May 2023, with the Volkswagen Polo Vivo emerging victorious among the passenger cars with 1 876 units sold last month.
The Toyota Corolla Cross was second overall and the best-selling SUV, with 1 644 finding homes, while its Starlet sibling came third overall with 1 218 sales, pushing the Suzuki Swift (1 178) off the passenger vehicle podium.
The Toyota Fortuner was the country’s second best-selling SUV in May with 1 018 sales, while the Haval Jolion (881), Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (745) and Renault Kiger (720) completed the top five, highlighting that South Africans are hungry for affordable SUVs.
Passenger Vehicle Sales Ranking: May 2023
1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 1 876
2. Toyota Corolla Cross – 1 644
3. Toyota Starlet – 1 218
4. Suzuki Swift – 1 178
5. Volkswagen Polo – 1 024
6. Toyota Fortuner – 1 018
7. Hyundai Grand i10 – 976
8. Haval Jolion – 881
9. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – 745
10. Renault Kiger – 720
11. Toyota Urban Cruiser – 713
12. Nissan Magnite – 688
13. Volkswagen T-Cross – 550
14. Suzuki Baleno – 504
15. Kia Picanto – 485
16. Renault Kwid – 485
17. Kia Sonet – 444
18. Suzuki Ertiga – 425
19. Haval H6 – 403
20. Hyundai Venue – 398
21. Suzuki Grand Vitara – 382
22. Renault Triber – 370
23. Hyundai i20 – 356
24. Suzuki S-Presso – 352
25. Toyota Corolla Quest – 327
26. Toyota Rumion – 319
27. Toyota Vitz – 312
28. Chery Tiggo 7 Pro – 289
29. Ford Everest – 245
30. Suzuki Jimny – 217
Unless, by some miracle, economic conditions improve, the South African new vehicle market is looking set to stagnate or post modest growth at best.
South Africans are contending with high interest rates, following the SA Reserve Bank’s 10th consecutive hike last month, as well as high fuel prices, while load shedding continues to cause irreparable harm to the economy.
According to Naamsa – The Automotive Business Council, South Africans have to date spent 27% of the year without power, compared to 9.5% in 2022.
Business sentiment is also riding a pessimistic tide, according to the association, with the country’s future participation in Agoa, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (which gives SA exporters duty-free access to the US market) now under question.
“Equally so, the Naamsa in-house leading business confidence indicator of current and future developments in the domestic automotive industry, namely, the Naamsa CEOs Confidence Index, reflected a gloomy outlook for nearly all of the automotive industry’s key performance indicators over the next three months,” Naamsa said.
The National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) said that the general feeling among industry experts was that many consumers were turning their attention to investing in solar panels and inverters rather than new cars.
“Going forward it will be interesting to see if the pace can continue in an environment where sales growth is seen as being somewhat against the odds,” said NADA director Gary McCraw.
IOL Motoring