ECONOMY
New vehicle sales continue to soar
Posted Mon, 05 Dec 2005
There were 50 565 new vehicles sold in November — up 21.4 percent on the same month last year, said the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa).
Of these, 34 071 were new cars, an increase of 6184 or 22.2 percent on last year.
The car sales were also 2.2 percent up on October sales, when 733 fewer new cars were sold, at 33 338.
November sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses, at 13 761 also improved, gaining 17.7 percent or 2069 vehicles on last year.
"Both the new car and light commercial vehicle segments remained intensely competitive, characterised by price competition, new model introductions and a number of companies offering lower prices and additional value adding benefits," Naamsa said.
Sales of vehicles in the medium and heavy truck segments of the industry also continued to perform well, recording fairly strong gains on the corresponding month last year, Naamsa said.
November sales of medium commercial vehicles, at 1307 units, and sales of heavy trucks and buses, at 1426 units, reflected an improvement of 442 units or 51.1 percent in the case of medium commercials, and 214 units or 17.6 percent in the case of heavy commercial vehicles.
The latest available statistics showed export sales of South African-produced vehicles from January to October of 112 045 units — an improvement of 16 425 vehicles or 17.2 percent compared to the 95 620 vehicles exported during the corresponding ten months in 2004.
Since the middle of 2005, exports of vehicles had gained momentum, recording substantial increases.
"The higher growth momentum in the South African economy — confirmed by recent official statistics — augured well for new vehicle sales over the medium term," Naamsa said.
Sapa
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