Strength in vehicle market sustained through October

General Motors South Africa (GMSA) continued to consolidate its position as a top-ranked manufacturer with 6 332 sales recorded in October for a 12.1% share of the total market. This solid performance came in another month of high activity in the market place with 52 338 new vehicles being delivered.
October vehicle deliveries were up 18.9% on October 2010 and just 2 019 units down on the 47-month high recorded in September. In the passenger market, the Chevrolet Aveo ranked as the sixth best seller with deliveries of 1 239 units. A high level of interest in the Chevrolet Spark saw it retain a position in the top 10 as number nine.
The Chevrolet Corsa Utility continued to dominate the sub-one ton segment with sales of 1 656 units to extend its unbroken leadership of this market to 79 months. A sturdy performance from the Isuzu KB in the 1-ton sector, where it ranks as number two with sales of 1 155 units, boosted GM’s share of the light commercial vehicle market to 21.96%.
“October vehicle sales delivered another strong month for the motor industry following on the four year high of September. Sales were likely supported by a high level of interest generated by the Johannesburg International Motor Show and new model activity associated with the show. The total market was up 18.9% on October 2010 with passenger sales up 19.8% for the same period. Sales of light commercial vehicles, always an important indicator of economic activity, were again positive with an increase of 15.6% over October 2010. Similarly sales of medium and extra heavy vehicles were very positive showing increases of 31.6 and 29.6% respectively,” says Malcolm Gauld, GM’s vice president: sales and marketing.
According to Gauld, new vehicle deliveries in the past month dropped off by 2 019 units compared to September, largely accounted for by a drop off in deliveries to rental fleets of around 1 200 units. In contrast government sales were up by 800 units.
“An indicator of public participation in the market is the daily sales average through the dealer channel. In October this number was 1 934 units per day, the best number seen since March of this year. While overall dealer sales are down on September this can be accounted for by the fact that there was one less selling day available in October. On balance we feel that demand through October was on a par with that experienced during September,” he said.
Gauld said last month saw a slight reversal in the year-to-date market trend with growth moving up marginally from 16.2% to 16.5% for the first 10 months of the year.
“At GMSA we are still expressing a degree of caution with regard to the sustainability of the current level of sales. Local and imported cost pressures remain a concern, as does the current turmoil in the Euro currency zone, impacting on the total global stage,” he concluded.