VIEWS
: September Car Sales Encouraging
Recent Gauteng Business News
New vehicle sales figures for September released
by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa)
showed a generally more positive result overall despite still being
depressed. The total market showed a 6% increase over last month while
reflecting a 19,5% decline on the same period last year. This
is largely due to the volume spike that we historically see at the end
of a quarter.
September accounted for
35,931 new registrations, the passenger car market showing significant
gains (6,2%) over last month, reinforcing last month’s 1,6% gain on
July. Even the light commercial vehicle (LCV) market showed signs of
improvement, posting a 5,5% improvement over last month’s poor segment
results. However, the market remained under pressure in light of September
2008 sales results, passenger cars recording a 15,8% decline, while
LCVs showed a heftier 21.9% slump.
Medium, Heavy, and Extra
Heavy commercial vehicles, as well as buses, continued to show declines
over August and the continued depressed state of that segment of the
market.
“After marginal growth
in June and July and a small decline in August, September sales are
reassuring, but by no means an indication yet of the market making significant
gains,” says Vice President Sales and Marketing, Ford Motor Company
of Southern Africa, Jacques Brent. “We expect the balance of the year
to reflect the quarter we have just completed apart from the characteristic
December reduction.”
Ford Motor Company of
Southern Africa (FMCSA) sales were boosted by excellent LCV sales to
grow 12% over August 2009, maintaining the company’s strong position
by outperforming the general market's 6% growth. The new Ford Ranger
performed well to sell 854 units, mostly through the dealer channel,
while Fiesta (526) and Mazda2 (316) were their best performing passenger
cars.
“The market could still
do with some stimulation, though it is encouraging that the dealer market
shows signs of stability at these levels,” says Brent. “While interest
rates have remained stable, further cuts would certainly aid the new
vehicle market, as will the continued strength of the Rand. However,
these results are unlikely to be felt this year, but could, along with
expected increases in fleet sales in preparation for 2010, create a
good platform for the market next year.”
Business News Sector Tags: Motoring|