New-vehicle sales in July reached 57 708 units – an 11.9% jump on the same month last year.

New-vehicle sales for the first seven months are now up 12.7% compared with the same period last year.

Following the pattern of the last few months, however, new-vehicle exports from South Africa continued to decline, reaching 32 801 units – a 11.6% drop compared with the same month last year.

Year-to-date exports have now dropped by 8.3%.

naamsa | The Automotive Business Council says July’s new passenger car market increased by 12.5% to reach 40 912 units, reflecting the best monthly passenger figures since September 2014.

Car rental sales accounted for 13.8% of new-passenger vehicles sold during the month.

Domestic sales of new bakkies, large vans and mini-buses – light commercial vehicles – expanded by 10.6%, to 13 710 units.

Medium truck sales grew by 19.4%, to 843 units, while heavy truck and bus sales expanded by 7%, to 2 243 units.

Commercial vehicle purchasing is often one of the earliest indicators of increased business activity, says National Automobile Dealers Association commercial vehicle executive Martin van den Berg.

“The trends dealers are seeing are encouraging,” he notes.

“Investment in distribution fleets, construction vehicles and freight capacity suggests that many businesses are planning ahead with confidence.

“While it is too early to call it a broad-based recovery, these are positive signals from these sectors that typically invest ahead of growth."

NEV Sales Growing Rapidly
naamsa notes that new energy vehicle (NEV) sales continued to gain momentum in June, with 3 045 NEVs moving off the showroom floor.

This is a 104.2% increase compared with the 1 491 units sold during the corresponding six-month period last year.

Based on total domestic new light-vehicle sales of 51 508 units, NEVs have now achieved a market penetration rate of 6%, meaning that roughly one in every 17 new vehicles sold in South Africa is electrified in some form or other.

naamsa says the market continues to be led by traditional hybrid electric vehicles, which accounted for 1 488 units, or 48.9% of all NEV sales during the first six months of the year.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles recorded 990-unit sales, contributing 32.5% to the NEV market, while battery electric vehicles reached 419 units, accounting for 13.8% of total NEV sales.