New vehicle sales continue to trend above pandemic lows
The year 2022 is off to a good start as new vehicle sales are trending above sales levels seen in the last three years.
According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, Namibia’s new vehicle sales decreased to 905 in April 2022, compared to 1,054 in the prior month and but saw a yearly increase compared to the 755 in April 2021.
Simonis Storm Economist Theo Klein said monthly new vehicle sales averages 888 year-to-date, which is above the average of 706 in the last two years and moving closer to the long-run average of 1,219.
Passenger and light commercial vehicles continue to be the bulk of new vehicle sales, accounting for 51.5% and 43.3% of total sales respectively in April 2022. On an annual basis, passenger vehicle sales increased by 30.2%, light commercial up by 21.7% and medium commercial went down by 15%. Heavy commercial increased by 12.5% while extra-heavy commercial went down by 56.5% in April 2022.
In April 2022, Toyota dominated the market in terms of new vehicle sales market share. Toyota had a 41.5% market share, Volkswagen (13.5%), both Ford and KIA (6%) and both Suzuki and Nissan (5.9%). These six brands accounted for 78.8% of total vehicle sales during April 2022.
“According to inflation data from the Namibia Statistics Agency, we see a slight uptick in the motor car category. In special cases, second-hand vehicle prices have surpassed the prices of new vehicles due to shortages in supply. Also, average prices of spare parts and accessories and service and repair charges are trending up slightly in recent months,” Klein said.
