New vehicle sales in South Africa slowed down somewhat in March compared with the same month last year, recording a 2.1% drop to 54 946 units.

Commenting on the statistics, compiled by RGT Smart and released on Tuesday, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) noted that Easter fell in March this year, and not in April, as had been the case in 2012.

“As a result, March last year benefited from two additional selling days compared to March this year.”

When considering the daily selling rate, average new vehicle sales for March 2013 showed an improvement of about 7% compared with March last year. 

March 2013 export sales from South Africa were up 18.2%, at 28 338 units.

Looking at segmental sales, passenger cars recorded a 3.6% drop to 37 596 units, while sales of industry new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses, at 14 794, improved by 1.3%.

Sales of medium trucks were up 3.3%, to 1 015 units, while heavy trucks and buses were down 1.7%, to 1 541 units.

Looking ahead, Naamsa said the momentum of vehicle exports was expected to improve further over the balance of the year.

However, local sales could be affected by price increases as a result of the weaker exchange rate and the April increase in emission taxes on cars and certain categories of light commercial vehicles. 

“This could result in some moderation in the rate of growth in sales over the balance of the year,” noted Naamsa.

Top Sellers:

Cars and Bakkies:
Toyota Hilux 3 637
Volkswagen Polo Vivo 2 939
Volkswagen Polo 2 596
Ford Ranger 1 818
Toyota Etios 1 736
Nissan NP200 1 712
Chevrolet Utility 1 465
Mercedes-Benz C-Class 1 415
BMW 3-Series 1 401
Toyota Corolla/Auris 1 224

Medium Trucks and Vans:
Hino 300 Series 199
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter: 198
Isuzu N-Series 177

Heavy Trucks:
Hino 500 Series 157
Isuzu F-Series 62
UD Trucks UD-H 60

Extra-Heavy Trucks:
Volvo FH 114
UD Trucks Quon 111
Mercedes-Benz Axor2 101

Buses:
Scania 27
MAN Volkswagen Volksbus 22
Tata LPO 21