New car sales rose slightly in 2024 but bakkies and trucks dipped sharply.
Despite a stronger year-end performance supported by strong seasonal sales to the vehicle rental industry, easing inflation and two interest rate cuts, South Africa’s overall new vehicle sales decreased by 3.0% to 515,712 units compared with 2023.
Releasing its 2024 sales statistics on Wednesday, motor industry body Naamsa said passenger vehicles at 351,302 sales were 1.1% higher than 2023 but the overall total was brought down by a 12% fall in bakkie and light commercial vehicle sales to 133,254 units, a 6.5% decrease to 7,714 units in medium trucks and a 4.9% decrease to 23,442 units in heavy trucks.
“At the onset of 2024, the new vehicle market was still only 0.9% below the pre-pandemic level of 536,612 units in 2019. The industry anticipated a year of two halves with a taxing first half and with brighter economic prospects and an upswing in new vehicle sales during the second half of the year, which did not materialise,” said Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa.
“New vehicle sales remained under pressure in 2024, continuing to reflect a shift in the matrix with various new entrants in the domestic market, in particular Chinese brands, offering options at the more affordable end of the pricing spectrum as consumers battled a tough economic climate.”
For the first time since Covid-19 affected 2020, vehicle exports declined in 2024, to 308,830 units, down by a substantial 22.8% compared with the record performance of 2023 when the industry exported 399,594 units, said Naamsa. This was affected by various factors including a slowdown in demand in the EU, the domestic automotive industry’s key export region, due to low economic growth, stricter emission rules and competition from cheaper electric vehicle imports from China in the region.
Car sales in SA rise slightly but commercials bomb in 2024
Group motoring editor
Image: Supplied
New car sales rose slightly in 2024 but bakkies and trucks dipped sharply.
Despite a stronger year-end performance supported by strong seasonal sales to the vehicle rental industry, easing inflation and two interest rate cuts, South Africa’s overall new vehicle sales decreased by 3.0% to 515,712 units compared with 2023.
Releasing its 2024 sales statistics on Wednesday, motor industry body Naamsa said passenger vehicles at 351,302 sales were 1.1% higher than 2023 but the overall total was brought down by a 12% fall in bakkie and light commercial vehicle sales to 133,254 units, a 6.5% decrease to 7,714 units in medium trucks and a 4.9% decrease to 23,442 units in heavy trucks.
“At the onset of 2024, the new vehicle market was still only 0.9% below the pre-pandemic level of 536,612 units in 2019. The industry anticipated a year of two halves with a taxing first half and with brighter economic prospects and an upswing in new vehicle sales during the second half of the year, which did not materialise,” said Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa.
“New vehicle sales remained under pressure in 2024, continuing to reflect a shift in the matrix with various new entrants in the domestic market, in particular Chinese brands, offering options at the more affordable end of the pricing spectrum as consumers battled a tough economic climate.”
For the first time since Covid-19 affected 2020, vehicle exports declined in 2024, to 308,830 units, down by a substantial 22.8% compared with the record performance of 2023 when the industry exported 399,594 units, said Naamsa. This was affected by various factors including a slowdown in demand in the EU, the domestic automotive industry’s key export region, due to low economic growth, stricter emission rules and competition from cheaper electric vehicle imports from China in the region.
Two-thirds of vehicles manufactured in South Africa are exported, enabling domestic carmakers to reach a much broader consumer base beyond the local market.
Mabasa expects a potential rebound for local new vehicle sales in 2025 after the Reserve Bank’s two interest rate cuts towards year-end, coupled with easing inflation.
In December, the local market registered its third consecutive month of year-on-year increase with 41,273 units — a 2.5% gain over December 2023. As per the trend for 2024, passenger cars were up 8.2% while bakkies fell 10.3%.
Toyota retained its long running market leadership last month, ahead of Volkswagen and Suzuki.
TOTAL VEHICLE SALES BY MANUFACTURER — DECEMBER 2024
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