Statistics released by the Department of Trade and Industry on Friday revealed that South Africa’s new car market was down 10.4% for the first half of the year compared with the first six months of 2015.

Light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales had declined by 8.9% in the first half of 2016, while medium commercial vehicle sales were down 19%, with sales of heavy trucks and buses dropping by 4.4%.

Total sales for the month of June continued the downward trend seen since January, declining by 10.6% compared with the same month last year.

June new-car sales, at 29 070 units, dropped by 11.7%.

The car rental sector accounted for 16.8% of car sales during the month.

June sales of new LCVs, at 13 398 units, declined by 9.7%, while sales of medium trucks, at 779 units, dropped by 8.4%.

New heavy-truck and bus sales provided the only upside during June, increasing by 2.6%, to 1 692 units.

Export sales of new vehicles during June declined by 1.4%, to 30 965 units.

The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) said in a statement that the momentum of new-vehicle exports should improve during the second half of the year as a result of an expected increase in LCV exports to Europe.

On the domestic front, the association commented that the underlying trend in new-vehicle sales continued to reflect progressive and steady weakness, with domestic sales expected to remain under pressure over the short to medium term.

“Subdued levels of economic activity, above inflation new-vehicle price increases, low levels of consumer confidence and lower finance approvals would continue to weigh on domestic new-vehicle sales during the second half of the year.”

However, added Naamsa, a number of “key economic indicators appeared to be moving in the right direction”, including the improvement in South Africa’s trade balance and lower-than-anticipated producer price inflation.

“This augured well for interest rate stability over the medium term. A further positive feature was the welcome rise in the Barclays Purchasing Managers’ Index, a leading economic indicator, which had now remained above the 50-point mark for the last four months. This heralded a possible improvement in business activity and the economy in coming months.”

Top-selling Cars and Bakkies in June:
1. Toyota Hilux 3 072
2. Ford Ranger 2 848
3. Volkswagen Polo Vivo 2 354
4. Volkswagen Polo 1 987
5. Toyota Fortuner 1 405
6. Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest 1 300
7. Nissan NP200 1 076
8. Isuzu KB 1 043
9. Toyota Etios 1 009
10. Toyota Quantum 991