New-vehicle sales declined by 3.8% in January, to 41 636 units, compared with the same month last year.
This continued the decline in new-vehicle sales witnessed in the last five months of 2023.
New-passenger-car sales dropped by 6.7%, to 28 790 units, compared with January last year.
Sales of bakkies, small trucks, vans and minibuses, however, were 2.3% up, at 10 871 units.
Medium-truck sales expanded by 13.3%, to 520 units, with heavy-truck and bus sales increasing by 7.9%, to 1 455 units.
New-vehicle exports saw a decline of 2.1%, to 20 242 units.
“The lingering effects of cost-of-living increases, dampened consumer and business confidence, combined with the country’s port challenges, [and] persistent loadshedding, continue to undermine the new- vehicle market’s recovery path,” says Naamsa | The Automotive Business Council.