South African vehicle sales appear to be on the road to recovery

According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) a total of 38 075 vehicles were sold on local soil in the first month of 2010. This points to a significant growth of 25% in vehicle sales compared to the preceding month and a sizeable increase of 15.5% over January 2009. The sale of passenger vehicles mirrored the increase in the overall market with total sales of 27 008, an increase of 17% over January 2009, while total commercial vehicle sales, including LCV’s and busses, recorded an improvement of 5% over the same month in 2009.

“We have seen a good start to the year and it is clear that the worst of the market downturn is now behind us,” says Andrew Kirby, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors. “One should however always consider the January figures in combination with that of December, as some manufacturers hold back on vehicle registrations in December and subsequently record a far larger number at the start of the new model year.”

Kirby notes that the figures reported in January also include unusually large rental sales, which is to be expected in the preparation for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. “In the light of the carry-over of this one should remain cautious of calling for a significant increase in vehicle sales for 2010. As Toyota we have considered the figures for the past two months and have adjusted our expectation for the market only slightly upward to 420 000 vehicles for the calendar year. This would imply growth of 6% in vehicle sales for 2010.”

Toyota South Africa Motors recorded a strong start to 2010 with total sales of 8 495 vehicles in January. The company, who is celebrating 30 years of market leadership this year, led the overall sales chart with the Toyota Hilux. The Hilux was the top selling vehicle in South Africa in 2009 and with sales of 2 045 units in January it remains dominant in the commercial vehicle segment. The closest contender to the Hilux was the Toyota Corolla, which led the passenger vehicle market with sales of 1 840 units in January. Other notable sales performances in the Toyota stable include the Quantum (1 230 units), the popular Yaris (1 195 units), the segment-leading Prado (337 units) and Fortuner (612 units). The petrol-electric Prius hybrid, a finalist in this year’s SA Guild of Motoring Journalist’s Car of the Year-competition, recorded a strong month with 46 units delivered to new owners in January.

South African vehicle manufacturers exported a total of 9 130 vehicles in January. The total export volume dropped by 14.8% in comparison to January last year, but it should recover as certain manufactures return to the docks after model updates and changeovers. Toyota recorded a total export volume of 2 450 vehicles, which indicates that nearly one in every three South African made vehicles originate from its modern plant in Prospecton, Durban.