Chery jumps Nissan! SA’s best-selling brands in August 2024
South Africa’s new-vehicle market registered a 4.9% year-on-year drop in sales in August 2024. Here’s your market overview, including Mzansi’s most popular brands…
South Africa’s new-vehicle market failed to sustain the smidgen of growth it achieved in July 2024, with sales falling 4.9% year on year to 43 588 units in August 2024. To rub salt into the proverbial wounds, August’s effort furthermore represented a 1.4% decrease compared to the prior month.
Exports, meanwhile, plummeted 34.3% year on year to 28 073 units in August 2024, though industry representative body Naamsa pointed out that the corresponding month in 2023 was the highest of that year (so this latest drop came off a high base). Year to date, that puts new-vehicle exports some 16.8% below the same period in 2023.
Out of the total reported industry sales in August, Naamsa estimated that 81.5% represented registrations via the dealer channel, while a considerable 12.4% were sales to the vehicle-rental industry, 3.3% to government and 2.8% to industry corporate fleets.
Bucking the overall market trend, the new passenger-vehicle segment grew 3.1% year on year to 30 022 units in August 2024, again with help from the car-rental industry (which accounted for 16.7% of that figure last month).
In contrast, the light-commercial vehicle segment ended the month on 10 709 registrations, representing a 21.5% year-on-year decline. However, keep in mind that drop off was amplified by the virtual disappearance of the Nissan NP200 (a since-discontinued half-tonne bakkie that contributed 1 064 units in the same month last year).
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Meanwhile, Brandon Cohen, National Chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), said the sales decline came “at a critical time for the automotive sector”.
“This decline is disappointing, especially considering the July sales results and improving consumer sentiment in the country,” said Cohen, before pointing out that “there were positive trends in the market”, with passenger-car sales and increasing 3.1% year on year and medium-truck sales rising by 8.1% compared to August 2023.
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Despite the discouraging performance in August 2024, WesBank CEO Ghana Msibi said he remained optimistic for a slow recovery in the market. Before the sales figures were released, Msibi said: “The worst is behind us. What lies ahead is the start of the road to recovery: not robust growth in the initial phase, but rather shallow gains in certain pockets”.
Lebo Gaoaketse, Head of Marketing and Communication at WesBank, added: “It is safe to assume that prospective buyers may have delayed their purchase decision during August in the hope of an interest-rate cut in September. While inflation data looks positive to allow a reduction in the prime lending rate, the difference won’t make immediate impactful savings to indebted consumers, but it should begin a rate-cutting cycle that would benefit the market.”
New-vehicle sales summary for August 2024
- Aggregate new-vehicle sales of 43 588 units decreased by 4.9% (2 266 units) compared to August 2023.
- New passenger-vehicle sales of 30 022 units increased by 3.1% (891 units) compared to August 2023.
- New light-commercial vehicle sales of 10 709 units decreased by 21.5% (2 941 units) compared to August 2023.
- Export sales of 28 073 units decreased by 34.3% (14 658 units) compared to August 2023.
10 best-selling automakers in South Africa in August 2024
Though August 2024 sales from the Toyota stable – which includes the Lexus and Hino brands – fell 4.3% compared with the preceding month, the Japanese giant remained way out in front. In the end, Toyota’s tally of 10 656 units represented the 5th time this year it had cracked 5 figures in a single month.
The Volkswagen Group (including Audi sales) held onto 2nd place by registering 5 645 units in August, a month-on-month decline of 8.6%. Suzuki was just 514 units behind in 3rd – growing its tally 6.5% month on month to 5 131 units again closing the gap – again completing the podium and breaking the 5 000-unit mark for the 3rd time in 2024.
Ford (2 960 units) remained in 4th position, while Hyundai (2 721 units) and Isuzu (1 961 units) likewise held steady in 5th and 6th, respectively. Meanwhile, Chinese firm Chery (excluding the 468 units sold by the Omoda and Jaecoo brands) finished August 2024 on 1 626 units, which saw it climb a ranking to 7th.
As such, Japanese automaker Nissan (1 621 units) slipped a spot to 8th, though it was a mere 5 sales behind Chery. GWM (1 608 units, including Haval sales) and Renault (1 367 units) again closed out the table in 9th and 10th, respectively.
With its 2nd-best sales effort of 2024 thus far, Kia (1 290 units) was bubbling under in 11th place in August, while Indian automaker Mahindra (1 011 units) likewise hit 4 figures to again finish 12th. That meant the BMW Group (956 units) found itself in 13th, ahead of Stellantis (603 units) and Mercedes-Benz (with a Naamsa-estimated 504 units).
1. Toyota – 10 656 units
2. Volkswagen Group – 5 645 units
3. Suzuki – 5 131 units
4. Ford – 2 960 units
5. Hyundai – 2 721 units
6. Isuzu – 1 961 units
7. Chery – 1 626 units
8. Nissan – 1 621 units
9. GWM – 1 608 units
10. Renault – 1 367 units
Sales outlook in South Africa for rest of 2024
What’s next for South Africa’s new-vehicle market? Well, though Naamsa admits August’s figures suggest July’s growth wasn’t quite the turning point it was hoping for, the industry representative body says it’s “encouraging” that the passenger-vehicle segment has been trending “upward over the past 2 months”.
“Although supported by seasonal sales to the vehicle-rental industry, a 13-month high rand exchange rate, a 3-year low 4.6% consumer-inflation rate, decreasing fuel prices, the potential ‘end to load-shedding’ as well as definite prospects of lower interest rates on the cards before year-end, all enhanced consumer sentiment during the month,” says Naamsa.
“There is recognition that with interest rates at a 15-year high, 2 potential rate cuts before the end of the year, reducing the cost of borrowing, would not materially improve vehicle affordability challenges and household debts over the short term, but it would signal a positive shift to stimulate economic activities.
“Since the downward slope in new-vehicle sales commenced in August 2023, expectations remain that the new-vehicle market will reflect an improved performance for the balance of the year due to the 2023 lower base-month effect comparisons,” Naamsa concludes.
Meanwhile, NADA’s Cohen expresses optimism about the potential for an interest-rate cut to stimulate the market, saying “a reduction in interest rates could significantly benefit the South African retail motor industry and the broader economy”.
With inflation falling to 4.6% in August and further improvements anticipated, Cohen believes “a rate cut seems imminent when the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meets later this month”, adding that “we could take direction from the Federal Reserve in the United States, where the chairman has indicated that a rate cut is likely”.
Cohen further notes while interest-rate changes typically take 3 to 6 months to impact consumer purchasing patterns, the current pent-up demand may lead to a quicker response in the local market.
Finally, Gaoaketse says South Africans have “reason to be confident”. “Relative stability has emerged after the formation of the Government of National Unity and the country’s energy availability factor has significantly improved reducing the possibility of load-shedding. With the possibility of an interest-rate cut during September, there are many more pieces of the recovery puzzle beginning to fall into place.”
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