High interest rates and rising inflation failed to put the brakes on new vehicle sales in South Africa last month, which continued to surge despite the strain on consumer budgets.
In June, 46,810 units were sold — a 14% increase over June 2022, according to motor industry body Naamsa.
The upswing was mostly driven by bakkies and light commercial vehicles, which sold 13,945 units for a 57.1% gain over the same month last year. Skewing the statistics was that Toyota’s flooded Durban plant was closed from April to August 2022 and lost production of about 68,000 vehicles.
The new passenger car market at 29,795 units last month increased 0.8% over June 2022.
For the first half of the year the total new vehicle market was 12,284 units or 4.8% more than in the corresponding period of 2022.
Naamsa said the upbeat market performance was encouraging, given the negative considerations which still outweigh the positives, and high interest rates, high inflation and currency depreciation which continue to strain consumers’ budgets.
Affordability appears to be driving new vehicle sales, underlined by the top selling models in the market, said Naamsa.
Export sales recorded a decline of 3,920 units (12.6%) in June, compared to the 31,216 vehicles exported in the same month last year.
Toyota sold 13,016 vehicles last month to continue its reign as the country’s most popular brand by a significant margin, ahead of Volkswagen and Suzuki in second and third places respectively.
TOP 15 SELLING VEHICLE BRANDS IN JUNE 2023:
- Toyota — 13,016
- Volkswagen — 5,578
- Suzuki — 4,335
- Hyundai — 2,645
- Ford — 2,514
- Nissan — 2,380
- Isuzu — 2,635
- Renault — 1,836
- Haval — 1,749
- Kia — 1,507
- Chery — 1,402
- BMW — 1,246
- Mahindra — 955
- Mercedes-Benz — 824
- Stellantis — 596
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Here are Mzansi’s top 15 selling car brands
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High interest rates and rising inflation failed to put the brakes on new vehicle sales in South Africa last month, which continued to surge despite the strain on consumer budgets.
In June, 46,810 units were sold — a 14% increase over June 2022, according to motor industry body Naamsa.
The upswing was mostly driven by bakkies and light commercial vehicles, which sold 13,945 units for a 57.1% gain over the same month last year. Skewing the statistics was that Toyota’s flooded Durban plant was closed from April to August 2022 and lost production of about 68,000 vehicles.
The new passenger car market at 29,795 units last month increased 0.8% over June 2022.
For the first half of the year the total new vehicle market was 12,284 units or 4.8% more than in the corresponding period of 2022.
Naamsa said the upbeat market performance was encouraging, given the negative considerations which still outweigh the positives, and high interest rates, high inflation and currency depreciation which continue to strain consumers’ budgets.
Affordability appears to be driving new vehicle sales, underlined by the top selling models in the market, said Naamsa.
Export sales recorded a decline of 3,920 units (12.6%) in June, compared to the 31,216 vehicles exported in the same month last year.
Toyota sold 13,016 vehicles last month to continue its reign as the country’s most popular brand by a significant margin, ahead of Volkswagen and Suzuki in second and third places respectively.
TOP 15 SELLING VEHICLE BRANDS IN JUNE 2023:
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