daniel chigunwe
Johannesburg. —The South African new vehicle market continues to show its resilience and willingness to grow.
April 2022 saw the overall market grow by 4,3percent year-on-year despite numerous international supply chain problems and the disruptions caused by the KZN floods.
The passenger car segment led the way, with year-on-year growth of 12.9%, while the LCV and bakkie market declined by 11,9percent.
The car and SUV market was buoyed by another month of strong demand from the rental industry, which accounted for 12,5percent of new car sales last month.
Thanks to rental sales, the Suzuki Swift was able to claim first place in the passenger car market for the first time ever.
The budget hatchback, which has a keen price tag but a disappointing two-star Global NCAP rating, managed 1621 sales last month, of which 650 went into rental fleets.
It was followed by the Volkswagen Polo Vivo (1547), Polo (1320) and Toyota Corolla Cross (1421).
The Renault Kiger was the nation’s second favourite SUV last month with 931 sales; it was followed by the Volkswagen T-Cross (761), Haval Jolion (736) and Hyundai Venue (704).
Although the overall South African new vehicle market, totalling 37 107 units, was sharply down on the previous month’s multi-year record of 50 607 units, it’s likely that April’s public holidays were to blame.
Overall, the market remains in good shape, says WesBank marketing head Lebogang Gaoaketse.
“The market shouldn’t be dismayed by April results,” Gaoaketse said. “Volatility is the only constant within the market, especially impacted by erratic supply beyond the manufacturers’ control. April’s volumes remain on the high end of last year’s performance and therefore shouldn’t be cause for any alarm.”— IOL
Bongani Ndlovu