South Africa Commercial Vehicle Sales Struggle in September

Commercial vehicle sales in South Africa had a relatively unremarkable month in September 2019 when compared to the same time last year, due in part by economic instability.

The light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment in September 2019 saw a decline of 894 units, which reflected a fall of 6.2% from the 14,367 LCVs sold during the same period last year, according to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA). Meanwhile, the medium commercial vehicle segment remained mostly flat, as the segment saw the exact same number of vehicles were sold during the corresponding month last year, 1,789.

Meanwhile, sales in the medium and heavy truck segments of the industry reflected a mixed performance and at 790 units and 1,789 units, respectively, overall.

Overall, out of the total reported industry sales of 49,191 in September,  3.1% of that went to industry corporate fleet.

Businesses will continue to delay purchasing decisions on big items such as new vehicles until there is greater economic stability all around and they are more optimistic about their economic future, NAAMSA. Although the economy grew in the second quarter of the year off the first quarter’s very low base, the underlying pace of activity remains weak.