April vehicle sales booming

Recent figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) reveal that vehicle sales increased significantly compared to the same period last year. The 58 vehicle brands available in South Africa sold a combined 50 920 units in the month of April.

Encouraging statistics indicate that both the commercial vehicle segment and vehicle exports are increasing significantly, which can only mean that business in South Africa is picking up. One of the main factors contributing to the success was an uninterrupted sales month in April, which meant increased marketing activity.

Even though April sales didn’t match the highly productive month of March, they still saw fantastic all-round growth of 19,5 percent compared to April last year.

Calvyn Hamman, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors, adds: “Even when one combines the two months, the trend is very positive when compared to the same period in 2012. Not only did the industry have more days in April to sell, but it also sold more vehicles per day, increasing the daily sales rate from 1 937 units in April last year, to 2 122 units this year.”

Apart from the number of daily sales increases, there has also been an influx of new models into the market that may have stimulated growth in various segments. Hamman adds that the low interest rate and prediction of future prices have led to increased sales as well.