New vehicle sales remain under pressure – June sales drop by 7.4%
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa released Namibia’s June vehicle sale statistics, showing showing a 7.4% decrease in new vehicle sales to 977, from the 1,055 vehicles sold in May.
This indicates that vehicle sales remain under pressure, with the year-to-date new vehicle sales in 2019 currently below 2011 levels, and the total new vehicle sales for the last 12 months down 5.7% from the same period in 2018.
In the month under review, a total of 599 new commercial vehicles were sold, representing a 10.3% increase, but a 9.7% year-on-year contraction while 378 new passenger vehicles were sold in June, declining by 26.2% and 18.0%year-on-year.
The statistics show Volkswagen narrowly leading the passenger vehicle sales segment with 31.5% of the segment sales year-to-date, while Toyota retained second place with 31.2% of the market share as at the end of June. Kia, Hyundai, Mercedes and Ford each command around 5.0% of the market in the passenger vehicles segment, leaving the remaining 18.2% of the market to other brands.
Furthermore, Toyota, with a strong market share of 59.5% year-to-date commanded the light commercial vehicles sales segment as Nissan remained in second position in the segment with 11.1% of the market, while Ford makes up third place with 8.4% of the year-to-date sales. Hino leads the medium commercial vehicle segment with 36.9% of sales year-to-date, while Scania was number one in the heavy- and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 37.9% of the market share year-to-date.
“The prospects for new vehicle sales remain dim in the short- to medium-term as government remains committed to fiscal consolidation and the economy remains in a recession, putting pressure on demand and investment,” IJG Research explained.
