Johannesburg - As had been widely expected, South Africa's motor industry kicked the year off on a bleak note.
According to figures released by the Department of Trade & Industry, new vehicle sales in January totalled just 48 615 units, 6.9 percent down on the same month last year.
By category, passenger car sales fell 6.1 percent to 34 936, while light commercial vehicles declined by a worrying 8.3 percent to 12 074 units. Medium and heavy trucks fared even worse, with a 15.6 percent year-on-year fall, while the heavies were down 12.5 percent.
In light of the sagging economy, as well as the inevitability of steep vehicle price inflation on the back of a battered rand and the prospect of further interest rate hikes, Naamsa has adjusted its sales prediction for the year downward to nine percent for cars and around four percent for commercial vehicles.
Although new vehicle exports got off to a poor start in January, registering a 12.9 percent year-on-year decline, Naamsa believes this is due to logistics and shipment capacity constraints and expects volumes to pick up substantially from March, while this year should see a 12 percent increase in exports, to a record 375 000 units.
Toyota's Hilux model-changeover is also dampening those figures for now, with below-average exports of just 1872 in January, although the run-out model did reasonably well on the local sales charts, ranking second overall.
JANUARY 2016: THE NUMBERS
SALES CHANNELS
Dealer sales: 75.0%
Rental industry: 18.4%
Corporate fleets: 4.4%
Government: 2.2%
TOP COMPANIES
1. Toyota - 10 888
2. Volkswagen - 8714
3. Ford - 6524
4. AMH/AAD - 4050
5. Nissan - 3616
6. General Motors - 3437
7. Mercedes-Benz - 2595
8. BMW - 1756
9. Renault - 1400
10. Mazda - 1101
TOP 100 REPORTED SALES*
1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 3287
2. Toyota Hilux - 2773
3. Ford Ranger - 2348
4. Volkswagen Polo - 2336
5. Toyota Corolla/Quest/Auris - 1970
6. Toyota Etios - 1937
7. Ford Fiesta - 1206
8. Nissan NP200 - 1147
9. Toyota Quantum - 1010
10. Chevrolet Spark - 993
11. Chevrolet Utility - 978
12. Ford EcoSport - 917
13. Ford Figo - 826
14. Toyota Rav4 - 726
15. Nissan NP300 Hardbody - 701
16. Renault Clio - 623
17. Isuzu KB - 598
18. Toyota Avanza - 555
19. Datsun Go - 509
20. Volkswagen Golf - 472
21. Ford Focus - 470
22. Renault Sandero - 418
23. BMW 3 Series - 403
24. Toyota Land Cruiser PU - 357
25. Toyota Fortuner - 352
26. Mazda CX-5 - 346
27. Audi A3 - 327
28. Toyota Aygo - 322
29. Volkswagen Up - 292
30. Ford Kuga - 281
31. Nissan NV300 Taxi - 272
32. Nissan Qashqai - 263
33. Mazda3 - 241
34. Volkswagen Amarok - 239
35. Nissan X-Trail - 231
36. Volkswagen Jetta - 228
37. Mazda CX-3 - 225
38. Toyota Yaris - 220
39. Ford Everest - 208
40. Volkswagen Tiguan - 205
41. Mazda2 - 203
42. Honda Mobilio - 200
43. BMW 1 Series - 194
43. Suzuki Swift - 194
45. BMW 2 Series - 192
46. Audi A4 - 189
46. Renault Captur - 189
48. Chevrolet Aveo - 175
49. Toyota Prado - 173
50. Honda Brio - 167
51. Audi Q3 - 151
52. Renault Duster - 148
53. Audi A1 - 146
54. BMW 4 Series - 145
55. BMW X1 - 139
56. Volkswagen Caddy - 135
57. Opel Mokka - 129
58. Land Rover Disco Sport - 126
59. Land Rover Discovery - 121
60. BMW X5 - 118
61. BMW X3 - 114
61. BMW 7 Series - 114
63. Jeep Renegade - 112
64. Mitsubishi ASX - 111
65. Mahindra Scorpio Pik-up - 108
66. Suzuki Celerio - 107
67. Range Rover Evoque - 105
68. Honda Civic - 104
68. Toyota Land Cruiser 200 - 104
70. Honda Ballade - 103
71. Range Rover Sport - 102
72. Opel Corsa - 99
73. Mahindra Bolero - 98
74. Suzuki Jimny - 97
75. Ford Transit - 95
76. Audi Q5 - 91
77. Nissan Almera - 90
78. Honda HR-V - 86
79. Nissan NV350 - 78
80. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 77
81. Honda Jazz - 76
81. Nissan Navara - 76
83. Opel Adam - 72
84. Mazda BT-50 - 71
85. Ford B-Max - 68
86. Chevrolet Cruze - 67
86. Jeep Wrangler - 67
86. Nissan Micra - 67
86. Volkswagen Kombi - 67
90. Mini hatch 3dr - 64
90. Audi Q7 - 64
92. Mahindra XUV - 63
93. BMW X4 - 62
94. Audi A5 - 61
95. Land Rover Defender PU - 59
96. Tata Indica Vista - 57
97. Mini hatch 5dr - 56
97. Chevrolet Trailblazer - 56
99. Suzuki Vitara - 55
100. Porsche Cayman/Boxster - 53
100. Porsche Cayenne - 53
*List excludes non-reporters such as Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia and GWM.
Data: Lightstone Auto, Naamsa