New-vehicle sales in the domestic market increased by 13.9% in 2022 compared with 2021, says Naamsa | The Automotive Business Council.

This follows a 22.2% jump in 2021 compared with 2020.

The 2022 number of 528 963 units is still 1.4% below 2019’s prepandemic level of 536 612 units.

“Following a fairly upbeat first-quarter performance, global supply-chain disruptions, along with the impact of the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, elevated inflation, an upward trend in interest rates, record fuel prices, as well as record highs in the frequency and intensity of loadshedding, weighed heavily on both business and consumer confidence,” says Naamsa.

“However, the new-vehicle market’s performance in 2022 remained resilient despite the multiple national and international headwinds.”

When looking at the various segments, new-passenger-vehicle sales improved by 19.3% in 2022, to 363 092 units.

Tempering this positive news somewhat is the fact that the strong consumer trend of buying less expensive and smaller cars continued last year.

The sales of bakkies, vans and minibuses improved by 2% last year, to 135 666 units.

The sales of medium-commercial vehicles increased by 11.3%, to 8 370 units, with the heavy truck and bus sector seeing an 11.7% jump, to 21 835 units.

New-vehicle exports from South Africa last year reached 351 450 units, showing a gain of 17.9% over 2021 numbers.

Exports reached 387 092 units in prepandemic 2019.

Naamsa notes that 2022’s performance was dragged down by the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, which closed the Toyota plant for several months, while also causing challenges at the Durban port.

Looking Ahead
Naamsa warns that global economic conditions have deteriorated significantly given the high inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes in many advanced and developing countries. 

“The risks to export sales, therefore, reside on the downside for 2023.”

Several new model introductions by major vehicle exporters may, however, counter this negative trend.

Naamsa expects the domestic new-vehicle market to remain positive in 2023, despite weakening domestic economic indicators and a deteriorating global growth outlook.

The association says it expects single-digit growth in new-vehicle sales as the market returns to prepandemic levels in both sales and exports.

Naamsa adds that it should be a key priority for the South African government to finalise its new energy vehicle support policy this year, “considering the importance of timing these interventions so that they were aligned with investment decisions and lead times of the [vehicle manufacturers] when considering [the production of] next-generation models.”