Spring in September car sales figures

VEHICLE manufacturers have reason to adda spring to their step following the release of the September sales figures yesterday.

National sales have seen an increase from 55722 in August to 60854 last month. Exports also climbed – from 25027 to 30778.

Some of the top-performing Eastern Cape vehicle manufacturers were Uitenhage's Volkswagen Group SA, whose domestic sales rose from 8617 to 9967 units, and East London's Mercedes Benz SA, with a hefty boost in export sales from 3422 to 5375.

National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) director Nico Vermeulen said the September sales figures reflected a remarkably strong performance.

While domestic sales grew by 11.5% compared with sales in September last year, export sales catapulted to a massive improvement of 22180 vehicles or a gain of 258%.

The massive year-on-year jump in exports was because September export figures last year were severely depressed as a result of the prolonged strike in the vehicle and component manufacturing industries.

"Assisted by a near-record contribution by the car rental industry, which accounted for 23.5% of all new cars sold during September, the latest monthly new car market performed above expectations," Vermeulen said.

"For the first time [this year], new car sales registered year-on-year growth. The improvement could be attributed to a combination of factors, including attractive incentive packages, general preemptive buying in anticipation of further new vehicle price increases on the back of a weakening rand, relatively strong corporate purchases, replacement demand and the strong contribution by the car rental sector."

While Naamsa still expected a decline in the domestic market this year, further improvement in export numbers was anticipated over the rest of this year and through next year. - Cindy Preller