Good news for cars sales in South Africa as buying patterns begin to shift
New vehicle sales in August were the second-best performing sales month to date in 2022, just as they were last year at this time. August recorded 47,420 new vehicle registrations according to Naamsa | the Automotive Business Council, 14.2% higher than the same month last year.
If it could be defined as a trend, the market prospects for the remainder of the year could hold further promise, said Wesbank. August 2021 sales were usurped by September and then November volumes last year. While more interest rate increases are inevitable this year, demand in the new vehicle market continues to grow. “Applications for finance continue to show a growing demand for vehicle replacement, with WesBank’s book showing strong double-digit growth being driven by applications for new vehicles,” he said.
Passenger Cars grew 14.6% to 31,269 units compared to August last year, representing very similar volumes to July. It was LCVs that contributed 13,281 units, up 13.1% year-on-year that assisted the market, a far better performance than the 9,552 sales last month.