March car sales fall 2.1%

This was expected as the Easter break fell in March this year‚ as opposed to April last year‚ which deprived the industry of two selling days‚ the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) said in a response to the figures.

Naamsa confirmed that monthly vehicle sales figures would continue to be compiled by RGT smart‚ but would be published by the DTI. This had "enabled Mercedes-Benz SA to resume full sales reporting" the association said.

The DTI reported a "decline in aggregate industry sales of 1‚206 units or 2.1% to 54‚946 vehicles from 56,152 units in March last year‚" Naamsa said.

Passenger car sales declined 3.6% year-on-year‚ but sales of light commercials grew 1.3%.

New vehicle exports from South Africa grew 18.2%‚ a trend that is expected to continue for the rest of the year‚ Naamsa said.

Naamsa cautioned that "some moderation in the rate of growth in sales" was possible over the coming months as a result of vehicle price inflation‚ hiked carbon dioxide taxes and the squeeze on disposable income.