South Africa’s new-vehicle sales continued to fly in November as consumers brushed off challenging economic conditions including interest rates rising to a five-year high.
The latest increase in the prime lending rate to 10.5% means the monthly instalment on a R400,000 car finance agreement has increased by at least R695 in the past year. Over a 72-month agreement, a consumer would have to pay R50,000 more for their car.
Despite this strain on consumer budgets, November sales were the second-best selling month this year at 49,413 units, up 18.9% on November last year. So far this year 334,010 new vehicles have been sold, a 19.6% gain over January-November 2021.
“Relatively strong sales of new motor vehicles in South Africa in November has come as a pleasant surprise to the local motor industry and dealer networks,” said Mark Dommisse, chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association.
“The consumer trend of buying less expensive and smaller cars, usually SUVs or crossovers, continues and, fortunately, the stock position has improved to meet this demand. Toyota is still recovering from lost production due to the four-month stoppage at its plant in Durban caused by flooding in April and the local manufacturer is catching up on deliveries that should have been made earlier in the year, which is affecting the market positively.”
Toyota posted another chart-topping retail result in November, leading sales in both passenger and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments. It sold 13,903 units to register a dominant 28.1% market share, more than double that of its nearest competitor Volkswagen. The locally-built Hilux (3,048) was once again the top-selling bakkie and most popular vehicle overall, while the locally-built Corolla Cross topped the passenger segment.
Volkswagen was the second most popular brand last month with 6,406 units sold, ahead of Suzuki (4,287), Nissan (3,167), Hyundai (3,002), Ford (2,347), Haval (2,220), Isuzu (2,027), Kia (1,892), Renault (1,801), Chery (1,502), Mahindra (1,010), Mercedes-Benz (958) and BMW (760).
Bakkies, compact hatchbacks and SUVs dominated the sales charts as usual.
SA’s top 30 selling new vehicles in November 2022:
Toyota Hilux - 3,048
Toyota Corolla Cross - 2,109
Ford Ranger - 1,979
Toyota Hi-Ace - 1,944
Suzuki Swift - 1,751
VW Polo Vivo - 1,741
VW Polo - 1,724
Isuzu D-Max - 1,578
Toyota Urban Cruiser - 1,334
Toyota Starlet - 1,322
Nissan NP200 - 1,164
VW T-Cross - 1,046
Hyundai Grand i10 - 971
Toyota Fortuner - 937
Nissan Magnite - 888
Haval Jolion - 860
Chery Tiggo4 Pro - 836
Toyota Corolla Quest - 764
Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 697
Renault Kwid - 662
Renault Triber - 648
Suzuki Vitara Brezza - 598
Toyota Agya - 585
Suzuki Dzire - 563
Nissan Navara - 562
Haval H6 - 555
Kia Picanto - 495
Hyundai Venue - 446
GWM P-Series - 437
Hyundai i20 - 430
These were SA’s top-selling cars in November
Interest rate hikes fail to cool consumer spending as new vehicles fly out of showrooms
Image: Denis Droppa
South Africa’s new-vehicle sales continued to fly in November as consumers brushed off challenging economic conditions including interest rates rising to a five-year high.
The latest increase in the prime lending rate to 10.5% means the monthly instalment on a R400,000 car finance agreement has increased by at least R695 in the past year. Over a 72-month agreement, a consumer would have to pay R50,000 more for their car.
Despite this strain on consumer budgets, November sales were the second-best selling month this year at 49,413 units, up 18.9% on November last year. So far this year 334,010 new vehicles have been sold, a 19.6% gain over January-November 2021.
“Relatively strong sales of new motor vehicles in South Africa in November has come as a pleasant surprise to the local motor industry and dealer networks,” said Mark Dommisse, chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association.
“The consumer trend of buying less expensive and smaller cars, usually SUVs or crossovers, continues and, fortunately, the stock position has improved to meet this demand. Toyota is still recovering from lost production due to the four-month stoppage at its plant in Durban caused by flooding in April and the local manufacturer is catching up on deliveries that should have been made earlier in the year, which is affecting the market positively.”
Toyota posted another chart-topping retail result in November, leading sales in both passenger and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments. It sold 13,903 units to register a dominant 28.1% market share, more than double that of its nearest competitor Volkswagen. The locally-built Hilux (3,048) was once again the top-selling bakkie and most popular vehicle overall, while the locally-built Corolla Cross topped the passenger segment.
Volkswagen was the second most popular brand last month with 6,406 units sold, ahead of Suzuki (4,287), Nissan (3,167), Hyundai (3,002), Ford (2,347), Haval (2,220), Isuzu (2,027), Kia (1,892), Renault (1,801), Chery (1,502), Mahindra (1,010), Mercedes-Benz (958) and BMW (760).
Bakkies, compact hatchbacks and SUVs dominated the sales charts as usual.
SA’s top 30 selling new vehicles in November 2022:
Toyota Hilux - 3,048
Toyota Corolla Cross - 2,109
Ford Ranger - 1,979
Toyota Hi-Ace - 1,944
Suzuki Swift - 1,751
VW Polo Vivo - 1,741
VW Polo - 1,724
Isuzu D-Max - 1,578
Toyota Urban Cruiser - 1,334
Toyota Starlet - 1,322
Nissan NP200 - 1,164
VW T-Cross - 1,046
Hyundai Grand i10 - 971
Toyota Fortuner - 937
Nissan Magnite - 888
Haval Jolion - 860
Chery Tiggo4 Pro - 836
Toyota Corolla Quest - 764
Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up - 697
Renault Kwid - 662
Renault Triber - 648
Suzuki Vitara Brezza - 598
Toyota Agya - 585
Suzuki Dzire - 563
Nissan Navara - 562
Haval H6 - 555
Kia Picanto - 495
Hyundai Venue - 446
GWM P-Series - 437
Hyundai i20 - 430
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