The expected turnaround in South Africa’s new-vehicle market has started, says Naamsa | The Automotive Business Council.

Naamsa on Thursday released the new-vehicle sales statistics for March, which is the first month of the year to produce comparable year-on-year numbers, considering the fact that the country’s Covid-19 lockdown restrictions came into effect in March last year.

Total South African new-vehicle sales increased by 31.8% in March, to 44 217 units, compared with the 33 546 vehicles sold in the same month last year.

Around 85% of this number represented dealer sales, with 8.7% of new vehicles going to the vehicle rental industry, 3.7%  to government and 2.6% to corporate fleets. 

March new-passenger-car sales increased by 23.4%, to 27 330 units.

Domestic sales of new light-commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses jumped by 52.4% in March, to 14 375 units.

Medium truck sales, at 705 units, were up 11.6% compared with March last year, while sales in the heavy truck and bus market increased by 35.2%, to 1 807 units.

March new-vehicle export sales, at 40 026 units, grew by 38.6% compared with the same month last year.

Naamsa believes that the 2021 export market should be supported by a rebound in global economic growth prospects.

However, the timeframe for a full recovery remains unknown.

As for the local market, Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa says that the automotive industry is expected to start recapturing lost demand as the South African economy expands.

“However, structural constraints … in the economy, coupled with the growing debt of the country and the ongoing electricity capacity limitations that business may be faced with in the future, do not bode well for a quick recovery.

“New-vehicle sales in 2021 may also be hampered by stock shortages of some models in the coming months, caused by Covid-19 induced manufacturing supply chain disruptions, such as the current global shortage of semi-conductors, or computer chips, [which are] an important part of modern vehicles.”