Audi SA third carmaker to halt detailed sales reporting

23rd June 2017

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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New CEO at Audi South Africa (Audi SA), Trevor Hill, says the German premium brand will, by the end of July, stop providing detailed new-vehicle sales numbers to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

This announcement follows in the footsteps of Mercedes Benz South Africa (MBSA) and BMW Group South Africa (BMW SA) which have already halted reporting detailed sales numbers, issuing only a single number for car sales, commercial vehicle sales and export sales, respectively.

BMW SA stopped providing detailed numbers earlier this year, in response to MBSA which did so for the first time in 2011.

MBSA cited concerns about compliance to competition legislation, on a domestic and global level.

Most vehicle manufacturers based in South Africa, such as Ford and Toyota, report their monthly sales figures by model and channel (retail, government, rental, single-unit) and their export sales by country of destination – at the very least – to the DTI. The data is compiled by Lightstone Auto, and made available for industry and public consumption by the DTI and the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa). (Vehicle importers such as Hyundai Motors South Africa and Kia Motors South Africa did not report their sales when they first entered the country, but now provide detailed segmental reporting three months in arrears.)


Current data issued by Lightstone Auto contains only model and channel sales estimates for BMW and Mercedes-Benz in South Africa, based on previous sales and information gleaned from financial institutions. However, these estimates become less reliable over time.

Hill says Audi has taken the decision to halt detailed reporting as doing so provides MBSA with competitive insight into Audi’s sales, while Audi does not have access to the same information on Mercedes-Benz’s sales.

Naamsa director Nico Vermeulen says the industry association “is working very hard” to normalise sales reporting within the South African automotive industry.

“I’m confident that we may be able to do so within the next two months, or, by the very latest, at the end of the year.”

The association believes that Audi and BMW will again report their sales in detail should MBSA be convinced to do so.

Naamsa’s efforts are focused on providing MBSA with “reassurance and comfort” that detailed sales reporting does not place the company at odds with competition legislation in South Africa.

As a result of its position, MBSA has also recently scaled back its participation in Naamsa bodies.

Part of the comfort Naamsa can provide to MBSA links to recently published draft guidelines by the Competition Commission on the exchanging of information among competitors.

“The auto industry complies with these guidelines in every way possible,” says Vermeulen.

Sharing of information among less than five competitors is viewed as problematic, he adds. However, the South African car industry alone has 34 companies, 58 brands and 1 600 model derivatives.

The products are also not homogenous, and they sell at different price points within different segments.

Also, vehicle sales information is provided to the entire industry, at the same time, and is also made available to the general public, notes Vermeulen.

The data is also administered by a third party, and not an industry association.

Vermeulen adds that Naamsa has also drafted a code of conduct that now regulates discussions within association bodies, to ensure that all deliberations comply with South African competition law.

He says he hopes Naamsa’s efforts will soon see MBSA reporting its sales again by channel, model and export destination “at the very least”, while he would also welcome the German manufacturer’s active participation in all Naamsa bodies.

 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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