Vehicle sales in all segments in August improved – encouragingly rising by 11.1% to reach 51 436, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) said on Friday 2 September.
“August 2011 aggregate industry domestic sales had improved by 5 144 units or 11.1% to reach 51 436 vehicles from 46 292 vehicles sold during August last year. Total year to date domestic sales in calendar 2011 remained 14.5% ahead of the corresponding eight months in 2010,” said NAAMSA.
Out of the total 51 436 industry reported sales in August, 40 534 units or 78.8% represented dealer sales, 15.2% represented sales to the car rental industry, 3% sales to government and a further 3% represented industry corporate fleet sales.
August 2011 export sales, at 24 835 vehicles, registered an improvement of 5 230 units or 26.7% compared with the strike-affected total of 19 605 in August last year.
According to the association, total new car sales in August, at 36 197, units reflected an improvement of 2 672 new cars or an increase of 8% compared with the 33 525 new cars sold in August 2010.
“The latest sales figures reflected a further decline in the growth momentum in the new car sales cycle and the year-on-year increase represented the lowest monthly improvement in the past nineteen months.”
See how our local Motor Manufacturers (Volkswagen and GMSA) are faring against each other and in comparison to the total vehicles sold in South Africa below:
See how our local Motor Manufacturers (Volkswagen and GMSA) are faring against each other in comparison with domestic sales and exports against the total vehicle exports from South Africa below:
The combined sales values for GMSA and VWSA show the highest monthly sales for this year. VWSA experienced their highest volume of export sales this year, despite the country’s total export sales falling by 1.24% on July’s total export sales.
GMSA had the following comments on the August sales figures:
General Motors South Africa (GMSA) continued to improve its market share during August as the third largest South African vehicle OEM. Total sales of 6 088 units for the month secured an 11,8% share of the total market for a sustained growth trend over the first eight months of the year.
A key player in this growth has been the performance of the Chevrolet Spark which recorded record sales of 949 units for the month as the eighth most popular passenger vehicle for August in South Africa. The all new Orlando added a further boost to GM’s sales with 185 customers taking delivery of this exciting new MPV during August. In just its second month in the market the Orlando has put down a marker as a challenger for segment leadership.
The Cruze and Captiva remained in demand while the Corsa had a strong sales month for the Opel Brand ending right on the bubble of being in the top ten sellers list for the month. The Chevrolet Utility continued its segment leadership in the sub 1-ton pick-up market, now extended to 77 months, with sales of 1 454 units. Once again this small Chevrolet pick-up ranked as the second most popular light commercial.
“August proved to be another strong month for GMSA as the company and its dealer network experienced further market growth on the back of an exciting model range that is set to expand further in the coming months,” says Malcolm Gauld, GMSA’s Vice President, Sales and Marketing.
“The 51 436 sales reported by NAAMSA for the month are representative of a longer than normal selling month rather than any underlying strength in demand,” says Gauld. “There will have been a degree of pent-up demand carried over from June and July that was satisfied through better stock availability. The vehicle rental industry is in a fleeting up phase with sales to that sector accounting for 15% of total deliveries.
“The best measure of public participation in the vehicle market is daily sales through the dealer channel and while these are up on July they did fall short of expectations indicating a degree of risk aversion in the private sector.
“Double digit growth in total sales for the year remains a reasonable expectation with the market currently running 14,5% ahead year to date versus 2010. Passenger sales are 16,7% up, light commercials 7,5%, medium commercials 21,2%, heavy vehicles 8,2% ahead and extra heavy, from a small base, are up a significant 47,9%.”
VWSA had the following comments on the August sales figures. (A highlight was VWSA’s highest ever combination of domestic and export sales):
During August 2011 a total of 36 138 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa. This equated to an increase of 13 percent when compared to July, and grew by eight percent when compared to August 2010, bringing year-to-date sales of new passenger cars in 2011 to a level 16.7 percent above January to August sales last year.
“Volkswagen Group South Africa reported passenger vehicle sales of 8 070 sales during August. This is equal to a 22.3 percent share of the total passenger market,” said VWSA Sales and Marketing Director, Mike Glendinning.
“The uniquely South African Polo Vivo continues to sell in excess of 3 000 vehicles a month – with 3 322 sales during August. This figure saw the Uitenhage-built model being the top’seller in the country for yet another month. Polo was the second-best seller, with 2 343 sales. These two products alone make up 15.7 percent of the entire passenger market.”
“We are most delighted with our Commercial Vehicles Brand, which came in with a record of 1 015 sales during August. The previous best figure of 951 sales was recorded during July this year. The Amarok, in both the single (295 units) and double cab (380 vehicles) variants, accounted for two thirds of these sales.”
Cumulatively, the Groups three brands accounted for 17.7 percent of the total market – with 9 085 of its vehicles leaving the showroom floors. August was also VWSA’s best month in terms of a combination of exports and sales – with 18 005 vehicles leaving the factory gates during the course of the month.
“The new passenger car market performed well in August, driven strongly by seasonal demand from rental car companies which contributed 20 percent to new cars sold during the month.”
“The third quarter of 2011 will in all probability also yield lower rates of economic growth which will weigh on the pace of growth in the new car sales cycle. While new car sales will continue to be supported by sales to rental car companies in coming months, the full year 2011 new car market at this time appears likely to end up around 15 percent up on the 2010 market,” concluded Glendinning.
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- TrueTech Readies South African Homes and Offices for a Year-End Tech Upgrade - 2 November 2026
- Now I Understand Why Investing Is Not for the Faint of Heart - 2 November 2026
- LED-Lightbox Rental in Midrand Delivers, Sets up and Collects Light-up Letters, Numbers and Neon-Style Signs for Gauteng Weddings and Year-End Functions - 2 November 2026
- Record Numbers Walk in Step With Those Affected by Cancer - 2 November 2026
- The Carpet Stain Remover That Leaves a Bigger Problem - 2 November 2026
