Aggregate industry sales of new passenger and commercial vehicles for April increased by a significant 19.5% to 50 920 units from the 42 608 units sold in April last year, which was widely attributed to the additional selling days observed in 2013 compared with the same month last year, which was affected by the Easter holidays. 

On a daily selling rate basis, new vehicle sales for April continued to reflect improved demand, with export sales registering another strong performance, reflecting an improvement of 29.7%, according to data released on Thursday by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa).

Overall, out of the total reported industry sales of 50 920 vehicles, 45 938 units or    90.2% represented dealer sales, 3.8% represented sales to the vehicle rental industry, 2.1% to government and 3.9% to industry corporate fleets.

The daily selling rate of new cars in April was slightly higher than during the corresponding month in the previous year.

“However, the industry experienced a 7.3% decrease in sales volumes in April compared with March, the primary contributors of which were passenger and light commercial vehicles,” commented Standard Bank Vehicle Asset Finance head Sydney Soundy.

Sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses, at 14 045 units, during April reflected an increase of 27.6% compared with the number of light commercial vehicles sold in April 2012.

Similarly, the sale of vehicles in the medium and heavy truck segments of the industry, at 904 and 1 625 units respectively, represented an increase of 7% and 20% respectively. 

New vehicle exports of 22 907 vehicles for the month registered further substantial gains, rising by 5 250 units or 29.7%, compared with the 17 657 vehicles exported in April last year. 

Over the balance of the year, the momentum of vehicle exports was expected to continue improving, with the exports of light commercial vehicles, in particular, expected to increase substantially.

Looking ahead, Naamsa believed that the medium-term outlook for the automotive sector would continue to be affected by new vehicle pricing pressures as a result of the weaker exchange rate, as well as the increase in carbon dioxide emissions taxes on cars and certain categories of light commercial vehicles. 

This was expected to result in some moderation in the growth rate of sales over the balance of the year.  

However, various factors should lend support to the industry, including the low interest rate environment, low debt-servicing costs, strong replacement demand, the highly competitive trading environment with attractive incentives and the introduction of new models.

“On the other hand, rising inflationary pressures facing consumers would affect consumers’ real disposable income and could also impact on future vehicle sales,” Naamsa cautioned.

Soundy added that, despite the 73c/l drop in the petrol price and the 55.6c/l drop in diesel prices on April 30, fuel prices remained a major cost for motorists and fleet operators.

“Fuel prices have risen by 24.4% for petrol and 16.4% for diesel since January 2012. Further, the price of fuel in the country has gone up by 258% and 376% for petrol and diesel respectively since 2001,” he noted.

Meanwhile, on the back of growth in new vehicle exports, industry production was projected to register strong growth in 2013.