Statistics released by the Department of Trade and Industry on Monday, showed that August new vehicle sales declined by 1.4%, to 55 722 units, compared with the same month last year.

Assisted by the car rental market, the South African new passenger car market, at 37 953 units, contracted by 1 047 units, or 2.7%, compared with August last year.

Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles (LCVs), bakkies and minibuses, at 14 942 units, improved by 2.1% compared with July last year, while sales of medium trucks, at 1 006 units, dropped by 3.5%.

New heavy truck and bus sales posted a 0.1% improvement, to 1 821 units.

August new vehicle export sales from South Africa jumped by 18.5% compared with the same month last year, to 25 027 units.

The outlook for the SA automotive sector for the balance of 2014 would remain challenging, noted the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) in a statement.

Relatively low economic growth, recent increases in interest rates and above inflation new vehicle price increases would combine to dampen market momentum.

The domestic market was expected to decline by 4% to 5% compared with 2013.

“South Africa requires stronger growth, faster employment creation and a narrowing of the country’s current account and fiscal deficits,” said Naamsa.

“An improvement in domestic and foreign investor confidence is imperative in this regard. Steadfast focus on the implementation of the National Development Plan will assist in boosting business sentiment.

“Against the background of more normalised industry vehicle production volumes, a further improvement in export numbers is anticipated over the remainder of 2014.”

Top Sellers in August:
Cars and Bakkies:
1. Toyota Hilux 3 238
2. Volkswagen Polo Vivo 2 756
3. Ford Ranger 2 312
4. Volkswagen Polo 2 267
5. Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest 1 928
6. Nissan NP200 1 553
7. Toyota Etios 1 502
8. Chevrolet Utility 1 368
9. Toyota Quantum 1 272
10. BMW 3-Series 1 212

Medium Trucks and Vans:
1. Hino 300 Series 236
2. Isuzu N-Series 203
3. Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 171

Heavy Trucks:
1. UD Trucks UD-H 130
2. Hino 500 Series 128
3. Isuzu F-Series 116 

Extra-Heavy Trucks:
1. Volvo FH 127
2. Mercedes-Benz Axor2 126
3. UD Trucks UD-X 120

Buses:
1. MAN Bus 33