New vehicle sales drop 9.2% to 49‚465 units in May

Naamsa says sales of new vehicles and exports of cars fell sharply in May, prompting further fears of a recession in South Africa. Image: David Castillo Dominici Free Digital Photos

Sales of new vehicles dropped by 9.2% to 49‚465 units in May compared with the same period a year earlier. New vehicle export sales saw an even bigger decline of 40.5% to 15‚613 units on an annualised basis.

Naamsa said that the South African economy was losing momentum and risked moving into recession.

"The decline in first-quarter gross domestic product to negative levels‚ the dramatic decline in the purchasing managers' index - particularly the business activity and employment index components - the sharp rise in producer inflation and the worsening trade deficit‚ all confirmed the advent of a more difficult economic environment.

"As a result‚ the domestic automotive market was likely to continue to face obstacles over the short- to medium-term‚" Naamsa said.

"New vehicle sales‚ at 32‚984 units‚ reflected a fall of 11.3% compared with the 37‚191 new cars sold in May last year‚" Naamsa said.

Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles‚ bakkies and mini-buses fell 5.1% compared with the corresponding month last year.

"Sales of vehicles in the medium and heavy truck segments of the industry reflected a mixed performance‚ with medium commercial vehicle sales showing a decline of 14.4%‚ while heavy trucks and buses registered an improvement of 4.3%‚" Naamsa said