Johannesburg - The latest new vehicle sales figures released by Lightstone Auto shows that the market is showing a fair amount of resilience in the face of tough economic conditions and above-average inflation.
The month of July 2014 saw vehicle sales total 57 670 units, a 1.5 percent decline over the same month last year. However, the rental industry prevented a worst decline as rental sales were up 21 percent year-on-year (14.2 percent of the pie), while dealer sales declined by 5.9 percent.
Exports declined by a whopping 16.1 percent year-on-year, which Naamsa attributes to the recent metal industry strike, however export sales are expected to improve during the remainder of the year as production gets back to normal and foreign markets experience sales growth.
TOUGH TIMES AHEAD
Yet Naamsa warns that the remainder of 2014 looks set to be a challenging one for domestic sales, basically because the economy is growing too slowly, interest rates are on an upward cycle and new car prices are rising above inflation levels.
In fact, the association expects the overall market to dip by around five percent this year.
Although VW enjoyed a particularly strong month with its recently upgraded Polo topping the charts with 3330 sales, Toyota still led the overall race with 11 347 units sold, versus VWSA's 9798 figure and AMH/AAD's 6823.
Yet the biggest celebrations are taking place at Ford SA's Silverton offices however, as the company set a new sales record in July, selling over 6000 vehicles for the first time - 6660 in fact. GMSA followed in fifth place with 5821 sales, ahead of Nissan (3824), Mercedes-Benz (3140), BMW (2196) and Renault (1610).
50 TOP SELLERS - JULY 2014
1. VW Polo - 3330
2. Toyota Hilux - 3117
3. VW Polo Vivo - 2887
4. Ford Ranger - 2564
5. Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest - 2134
6. Toyota Etios - 1618
7. Nissan NP200 - 1442
8. Toyota Quantum - 1405
9. Isuzu KB - 1379
10. Mercedes C-Class - 1377
11. Chevrolet Utility - 1297
12. Ford Figo - 1188
13. Ford Ecosport - 1005
14. BMW 3 Series - 981
15. Chevrolet Spark - 958
16. Toyota Fortuner - 885
17. Nissan NP300 - 639
18. Ford Fiesta - 614
19. Renault Sandero II - 572
20. VW Golf - 563
21. Audi A3 - 524
22. Toyota Avanza - 496
23. Nissan Qashqai - 483
24. Toyota RAV4 - 463
25. Renault Clio - 437
26. Ford Kuga - 419
27. Honda Brio - 408
28. Chevrolet Aveo - 387
29. Chevrolet Cruze - 356
30. Audi A4 - 352
31. Nissan Almera - 342
32. Renault Duster - 317
33. Suzuki Swift - 297
34. VW Jetta - 291
35. Mazda BT-50 - 276
36. VW Tiguan - 271
37. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 263
38. Chevrolet Sonic - 257
39. BMW 1 Series - 237
40. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 223
40. Honda Ballade - 223
42. VW Amarok - 221
43. Ford Focus - 220
44. Opel Astra - 208
45. BMW 4 Series - 201
46. Chevrolet Captiva - 199
47. Mercedes A-Class - 196
48. Mercedes M-Class - 190
49. Opel Corsa - 189
50. Jeep Compass - 187
50. VW Caddy - 187
*Hyundai/Kia supply aggregate monthly figures only and thus could not be included in this list.