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Locally built vehicles gaining ground, says financier

15th September 2017

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Locally built vehicles have been gaining ground in the South African new-vehicle market in recent years, says asset finance group WesBank.

In fact, nine of the ten top-selling vehicles in the first seven months of the year are South African-built cars and bakkies.

WesBank data shows that these nine vehicles represented 34.1% of all new passenger cars, vans, minibuses and bakkies sold in the country from January to the end of July this year.

In 2016, nine out of the top ten vehicles were also made in South Africa, with these nine models representing 30.4% of total new car, van and bakkie sales for the first seven months of the year.

In 2015, eight of the ten top-selling vehicles were locally built, at 30.2% of all passenger car, van and bakkie sales for the same period.

In 2014, seven of the ten top-selling vehicles were locally built, at 26.8% of all passenger car, van and bakkie sales from January to the end of July of that year.

“It’s remarkable that nine of the top ten sellers are all South African [in 2017], especially with more than 350 models on sale today,” says WesBank brand and communications head Rudolf Mahoney.

“This incredible demand for locally built vehicles perfectly illustrates how important the motor industry is to the local economy and consumers.”

Between January and the end of July a total of 301 486 passenger cars, bakkies, vans and minibuses were sold countrywide.

Of the 358 different models on sale in South Africa this year, only 25 are built in South Africa.

Despite only representing 7% of all models on sale, South African-built cars, bakkies, vans and minibuses enjoy a healthy 45.5% of total market sales volume, compared with the 54.5% sales share for the 326 imported models on sale.

“Locally built passenger cars fill a need. Many of them are mainstream models that fill the need for affordable transport,” notes Mahoney.

“Consumers aren’t necessarily buying these models because they’re local. Rather, it’s a case of manufacturers choosing to build these models locally because there is high demand. However, the result benefits both parties.”

Bakkies remain the most popular vehicle in South Africa, accounting for 55% of sales (January to end-July) among locally built vehicles.

Bakkies form part of the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment, which also includes minibuses and light vehicles that have been refitted for commercial use.

Between 2012 and 2016, the LCV segment grew 7.1%, while total vehicle sales over that period declined by 18.8%.

“Bakkies aren’t just commercial vehicles anymore – consumers are also using them to enable their lifestyles,” says Mahoney.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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