New vehicle sales drop 10.7% to 46‚013 units

New vehicle sales in South Africa dropped sharply in April. Image: ddpavumba Fotolia

Sales of new vehicles dropped by 10.7% to 46‚013 units in April compared with the same period a year earlier‚ the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) said.

New vehicle export sales saw an even bigger decline of 32.6% to 16‚801 units on an annualised basis. All segments and categories were recorded on a year-on-year (y/y) basis showed declines.

"Consumer sentiment remained under pressure because of high levels of indebtedness‚ escalating energy and transport costs and in Gauteng‚ e-tolling‚" the association said‚ predicting tough times for the rest of the year.

The new passenger car market remained under pressure in the period under review‚ recording a 10.6% drop in sales to 30‚848 from a year-earlier period.

Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles‚ bakkies and mini buses dropped by 11.5% to 12‚796‚ the data show. Medium commercial vehicle sales recorded a 12.3% decline to 795 units‚ and heavy trucks and buses registered a 3.9% drop to 1‚574 units.

"Domestic trading conditions were anticipated to remain difficult‚ with pressure on margins‚ particularly in the new car and light commercial vehicle sectors‚" Naamsa said‚ adding that the domestic market was likely to register a decline‚ in aggregate terms‚ of about 3.5% in 2014 compared with 2013.