Toyota kept is position as the best-selling brand in November with a top-three model lock-out.
Toyota secured a second straight top-three clean sweep as South Africa’s new vehicle sales recorded its eleventh month of consecutive increases in November.
The only automaker to once again post five digit figures with sales of 13 903 units, the Hilux remained in first place with 3 048 examples moved, followed by the Corolla Cross (2 017) and HiAce (1 981).
Retaining its fourth place from the October was the outgoing Ford Ranger on 1 979, ahead of the first imported vehicle, the Indian-made Suzuki Swift (1 751), which edged out the locally produced Volkswagen Polo Vivo by 10 examples sold.
Seventh came by the way of the Vivo’s sibling, the conventional Volkswagen Polo on 1 724, with another made-in-the-Eastern Cape model, the Isuzu D-Max, placing eighth on 1 578.
Two more vehicles sourced from India concluded the top-10 in the shape of the discontinued Toyota Urban Cruiser (1 334) and the Toyota Starlet (1 332).
In what has been a year beset with challenges ranging from record high fuel prices, interest rate hikes, load shedding, infrastructure and logistics hold-ups, as well as lingering effects from the pandemic, the mentioned eleventh month of increases saw the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) recording an uptake of 18.2% from last year’s 41 795 units to this year’s 49 413.
Equally as bright was a second increase across the respective segments with new passenger vehicle sales going up by 16.9% from 28 100 to 32 859 and light commercial vehicles by a substantial 20.8% from 11 154 to 13 477.
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The biggest winner though were medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, the former going-up by 17.5% from 766 to 900 and the latter by 22.6% from 1 775 to 2 177.
After a welcome uptake in October, new vehicle reports recorded the best performance of the month with an increase of 64.7% form 2021’s 13 479 to 2022’s 20 831 units.
“As expected, the South African Reserve Bank raised the interest rate during the month for the seventh consecutive time since November 2021 and the third consecutive time by 75 basis points, to its highest level since 2016,” NAAMSA said.
“However, the new vehicle market continued to outperform expectations and with only one month to go in the year it was running 13.6% ahead of the corresponding period 2022.”
Despite the mentioned hikes and concerns, relating to exports, over Europe’s escalating gas crisis and rapidly increasing cost of living, “growth prospects for domestic vehicle exports remain optimistic over the medium term”.
As has become norm, Toyota featured above arch rivals Volkswagen for best performing brand, with the Wolfsburg giant in-turn finishing ahead of Suzuki with sales of 6 406 versus 4 287.
Fourth place again went the way of Nissan on 3 167, followed by Hyundai (3 002), Ford (2 347), Haval (2 220), Isuzu (2 027), Kia (1 892) and Renault (1 801).