Confidence levels on the dealer floor in January were at their highest ever in the three-and-a-half-year history of the Wesbank Vehicle Sales Confidence Indicator, says Wesbank sales and marketing executive head Chris de Kock.

He says that confidence levels reached 6,5 out of 10 among vehicle dealers in January, up from 5,7 in October.

“The more cars they are selling, the better the dealers are feeling. Dealers are basically selling lots of cars and making money.”

De Kock says that there has also been a significant uptick in the number of credit applica- tions received at Wesbank. The vehicle financier has seen applications jump to 4 350 a day, compared with a low of 3 200 a day during the recession.

“We have almost returned to the levels seen in the boom period.”

Wesbank’s credit approval rate has increased by 11% since October 2010.

Other good news is that Wesbank’s repossession numbers have been shrinking, down from 2 300 a month to fewer than 1 000 vehicles a month.

General repossessions in the South African vehicle market have also come down, from 7 000 a month to around 3 000 vehicles a month.

The number of South African consumers with impaired credit records have also reduced for the first time since June 2007, with the number of credit-active consumers continuing to grow.

“This turning point is quite a relief,” says De Kock.

Of the more than 18-million credit users in South Africa, more than eight-million have impaired records.

De Kock notes that a normal upswing – from the bottom of a cycle to the top – generally lasts for 22 quarters in South Africa, adding that seven quarters remain in the current upswing, which means that he expects the new-vehicle market to continue improving in South Africa in 2011.

“We expect to see 10% to 12% growth [in new-vehicle sales] this year.”

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