South African vehicle sales declined for the fourth month in a row in November as the shipping crisis and escalated load shedding took their toll on the local market.
According to Automotive Business Council Naamsa, 49,986 new vehicles were sold in South Africa last month, a worrying 9.8% decline over the same month in 2022.
The passenger car market, at 29,384 units, saw a 12.1% year-on-year decline while the bakkies and light commercial vehicles fell 3.9% to 12,941. The medium and heavy commercial vehicle sectors posted respective declines of 13.5% and 10.7%.
Naamsa said the current logistical challenges at South Africa’s ports and across the rail network in general would soon have a devastating domino effect on the entire value chain of the automotive industry.
“While supply chains are gradually stabilising globally and semi-conductor shortages are anticipated to ease, our erratic logistical challenges will become the single biggest risk for the sector should we not urgently address many of the leadership and systemic structural challenges experienced by Transnet,” Naamsa said.
Year-to-date the vehicle market is just 0.6% ahead of 2022, which means that, depending on how December’s sales pan out, the market could miss out on returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
On the sales charts the Toyota Hilux enjoyed its usual dominance, with 3,073 units sold, and the Ford Ranger put on another strong showing for second place overall with 2,234 units finding homes.
The top-selling passenger car, predictability, was Volkswagen’s Polo Vivo with 1,913 units while the Toyota Corolla Cross won the SUV sales race once again with a volume of 1,766.
Runners up on the hatchback front were the Toyota Starlet and Suzuki Swift, both selling in excess of 1,100 units, while the Nissan Magnite (997) and Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (986) completed the SUV podium with impressive numbers given the market conditions.
50 Best-selling vehicles in South Africa: November 2023
- 1. Toyota Hilux - 3,073
- 2. Ford Ranger - 2,234
- 3. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 1,913
- 4. Toyota Corolla Cross - 1,766
- 5. Isuzu D-Max - 1,662
- 6. Toyota Hi-Ace - 1,501
- 7. Toyota Starlet - 1,176
- 8. Nissan NP200 - 1,152
- 9. Suzuki Swift - 1,117
- 10. Nissan Magnite - 997
- 11. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro - 986
- 12. Hyundai Grand i10 - 965
- 13. Volkswagen Polo - 930
- 14. Toyota Vitz - 855
- 15. Toyota Fortuner - 689
- 16. Kia Sonet - 675
- 17. Haval H6 - 654
- 18. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 606
- 19. Renault Kwid - 589
- 20. Toyota Corolla Quest - 582
- 21. Renault Kiger - 574
- 22. Hyundai i20 - 565
- 23. Toyota Urban Cruiser - 559
- 24. Suzuki Fronx - 547
- 25. Volkswagen T-Cross - 538
- 26. Renault Triber - 522
- 27. Suzuki Ertiga - 520
- 28. Haval Jolion - 508
- 29. Suzuki S-Presso - 446
- 30. Volkswagen Polo Sedan - 434
- 31. Suzuki Baleno - 414
- 32. Nissan Navara - 402
- 33. Volkswagen Amarok - 367
- 34. Suzuki Jimny - 350
- 35. Ford Everest - 346
- 36. Toyota Rumion - 330
- 37. Kia Picanto - 324
- 38. Chery Tiggo 7 Pro - 309
- 39. Hyundai Tucson - 295
- 40. GWM P-Series - 284
- 41. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 260
- 42. Suzuki Grand Vitara - 238
- 43. Toyota Land Cruiser 300 - 222
- 44. Hyundai H100 Bakkie - 215
- 45. Suzuki Dzire - 213
- 46. Suzuki Celerio - 204
- 47. Kia Seltos - 200
- 48. Volkswagen Tiguan - 178
- 49. Nissan Qashqai - 163
- 50. Honda Amaze - 149
Best-selling vehicle brands in South Africa: November 2023
- 1. Toyota - 11,556
- 2. Volkswagen - 5,056
- 3. Suzuki Auto - 4,368
- 4. Ford - 2,910
- 5. Nissan - 2,779
- 6. Hyundai - 2,532
- 7. Renault - 1,802
- 8. Kia - 1,546
- 9. Chery - 1,501
- 10. BMW/Mini - 1,213
Although the SA Reserve Bank kept interest rates unchanged for the third month in a row, the high interest rate environment will continue to impact on household debt and spending until at least the middle of next year, WesBank says.
“While this is of some comfort to indebted consumers, the high lending rate combined with high inflation and relatively lower household income, will continue to restrict big-ticket purchases such as new vehicles,” said the bank’s marketing head Lebo Gaoaketse, who added that the energy crisis was also taking a toll in a way you might not have expected.
“Those restricted household incomes and business revenue streams are prioritising an alternative energy solution before a new vehicle purchase,” Gaoaketse said.
“With the return of higher stages of load shedding during November, sales during December and January could be expected to experience a higher-than-usual wait-and-see approach to purchase decisions.”
While the local market came under strain in November, exports enjoyed an unexpected surge despite the port crisis, with a year-on-year gain of 25.5% year on year to total 41,660 units.
South Africa’s top export products in November were the Volkswagen Polo (10,174), Mercedes C-Class (9,940), Ford Ranger (8,597), Toyota Hilux (6,486) and BMW X3 (5,100).
IOL Motoring