Category Archives: Vehicle Sales

A total of 677 new vehicles were sold in July, representing a 22.4% m/m decline from the 872 new vehicles sold in June, and a 15.3% y/y drop from the 799 new vehicles sold July last year. Year-to-date 5,864 vehicles have been sold of which 3,055 were passenger vehicles, 2,442 were light commercial vehicles, and 367 were medium and heavy commercial vehicles. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 9,600 new vehicles were sold at the end of July, representing a 5.3% y/y increase from the 9,118 new vehicles sold over the comparable period a year ago.

382 new passenger vehicles were sold in July, the lowest monthly sales figure so far this year, down 11.6% from the 432 passenger vehicles sold in June. Toyota resumed full scale production again in July, after suspending production in April following the floods in KwaZulu-Natal. Despite Toyota ramping up its production at the plant, new passenger vehicles from Toyota declined by 27.1% m/m dipping below the 100 new vehicle sales mark for the second time this year. Year-to-date passenger vehicles sales rose to 3,055 in July, 14.6% higher than during the same period in 2021 and 73.6% higher than the same period in 2020. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales increased by 18.4% y/y to 4,874.

Following the uptick in commercial vehicle sales in June when 440 units were sold, new commercial vehicles sales fell to 295 in July, contracting by 33.0% m/m and 28.2% y/y. Light commercial vehicles continue to make up the bulk of the new commercial vehicle sales with 266 sold in July, followed by 17 heavy and extra heavy commercial vehicles and 12 medium commercial vehicles. Like the passenger vehicle sales, light commercial vehicles from Toyota declined and reached its lowest monthly sales level in two years. Light commercial vehicle sales from Nissan also recorded a sharp decline down 39.7% m/m from June, albeit from a high base. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light and medium commercial vehicle sales fell 6.5% y/y and 6.3% y/y, respectively, while heavy commercial vehicle sales rose 3.2% y/y.

Despite having lower sales in July, Toyota continues to lead the new passenger vehicle sales segment with 30.3% of the segment sales year-to-date, followed by Volkswagen with 20.9% of the market share. The two top brands maintained their large gap over the rest of the market with Kia and Suzuki following with 9.4% and 8.0% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 31.5% of the market to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota maintained its dominance in the light commercial vehicle space with a 45.3% market share, followed by Nissan with 14.0%. Hino continues to lead the medium commercial vehicle segment with 28.7% of sales year-to-date, closely followed by Mercedes-Benz with 24.1% market share. Scania retains its position as the leader in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 31.4% market share year-to-date.

The Bottom Line

New vehicle sales slumped in July. July’s sales figure is the lowest so far in 2022 but still in line with the monthly average for the year. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales were 0.1% lower than in June, decreasing for the first time after rising for 19 consecutive months, possibly supply side driven by the flood induced problems for Toyota in South Africa. With the Toyota production plant in KwaZulu-Natal having re-commenced production in July, vehicle sales are expected to recover marginally. New commercial vehicle sales also contracted by 5.5% on a 12-month cumulative basis. Overall, year-to-date new vehicle sales are still roughly in line with those of 2021.

866 new vehicles were sold in June, which is 96 more than were sold in May and represents a 2.7% y/y increase from the 843 vehicles sold in June 2021. The first half of 2022 has observed a total of 5,181 new vehicle sales, of which 2,668 were passenger vehicles, 2,175 light commercial vehicles, and 338 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. By comparison, the first half of 2021 saw 4,893 new vehicles sold. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 9,716 new vehicles were sold at the end of June, representing an 8.1% y/y increase from the 8,989 sold over the comparable period a year ago.

A total of 427 new passenger vehicles were sold during June, an increase of 5.4% m/m from the 405 sold in May, but a 0.7% y/y decrease from the 430 vehicles sold in June 2021. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales have increased by 23.2% y/y to 4,875. Year-to-date, new passenger vehicles sales exceeded 2020 and 2021 levels, with 2,668 new passenger vehicles sold so far this year, a 74.5% and 17.2% increase from the new passenger vehicles sold over the same period in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

A total of 439 new commercial vehicles were sold in June, representing an increase of 20.3% m/m and 6.3% y/y. While all three subcategories recorded better sales than in May, the month-on-month increase was primarily driven by a rebound in light commercial vehicle sales of 21.4% m/m. There was a noticeably drop in Toyota’s light commercial vehicle sales in both May and June following the temporary closure of the production plant in KwaZulu-Natal. Despite this, light commercial vehicle sales were still in line with the monthly average for the year as customers switched to other brands who were able to deliver new light commercial vehicles. Medium- and heavy commercial vehicle sales fell 31.6% y/y and 19.0% y/y respectively, while light commercial vehicles sales rose 13.3% y/y. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicles sales fell by 4.3% y/y to 4,135, medium commercial vehicles fell by 6.3% y/y to 178, while heavy commercial vehicles increased by 1.5% y/y to 528.

Toyota continues to lead the new passenger vehicle sales segment with 31.7% of the segment sales year-to-date, followed by Volkswagen with 20.4% of the market share. The two top brands maintained their large gap over the rest of the market with Kia and Suzuki following with 9.0% and 7.8% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 31.0% of the market to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota maintained its dominance in the light commercial vehicle space with a 48.8% market share, followed by Nissan with 13.6% of the market. Hino continues to lead the medium commercial vehicle segment with 29.3% of sales year-to-date, closely followed by Mercedes-Benz with 24.0% of the market share. Scania remained the leader in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 33.1% of the market share year-to-date.

The Bottom Line

In context, June’s new vehicle sales figure was in line with the monthly average for the year. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales have rebounded to the pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019 but seems unlikely to exceed it meaningfully in the short-term. New commercial vehicle sales continue to hover around the 4,800 level on a 12-month cumulative basis, where it has been for the past two years now, indicating stagnant demand in this sector. The last time cumulative commercial vehicle sales were at these levels was in 2006.

A total of 767 new vehicles were sold in May, down 15.25% m/m from the 905 vehicles sold in April 2022 and down 2.9% y/y from the 790 vehicles sold in May 2021. Year-to-date 4,317 new vehicles have been sold, of which 2,243 were passenger vehicles, 1,800 light commercial vehicles, and 272 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. In comparison, 4,050 new vehicles were sold during the first 5 months of 2021. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 9,695 new vehicles were sold at the end of May, representing a 9.0% y/y increase from the 8,912 new vehicles sold over the comparable period a year ago.

402 new passenger vehicles were sold in May, the lowest monthly sales figure so far this year, and down 13.7% from the 466 passenger vehicles sold in April, but up 12.3% when compared to the 358 sold in May 2021. Year-to-date, 2,243 new passenger vehicles have been sold, an increase of 21.4% from the 1,847 new passenger vehicles sold over the same period in 2021. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 4,880 new passenger vehicles were sold, up 26.0% y/y when compared the 3,872 passenger vehicles sold over the comparable period last year. Despite being a somewhat weaker month for new passenger vehicle sales, May’s sales figure is not far off the average monthly sales figure for the past 12 months.

365 new commercial vehicles were sold in May, down 16.9% m/m from the 439 commercial vehicles sold in April and down 15.9% y/y when compared to the 432 commercial vehicles sold in May 2021. Light commercial vehicle sales continue to make up the bulk of the new commercial vehicle sales with 309 sold in May, followed by 47 heavy and extra heavy commercial vehicles and 9 medium commercial vehicles sold during the month. Light- and medium commercial vehicle sales fell by 21.2% m/m and 47.1% m/m, respectively, while heavy and extra heavy commercial vehicle sales rose by 56.7% m/m. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicle sales fell by 6.5% y/y, while medium commercial vehicle and heavy and extra heavy commercial vehicle sales rose by 0.5% y/y and 12.4% y/y, respectively.

Toyota retained its lead in the new passenger vehicle sales segment with 33.0% of the segment sales year-to-date, despite the significant decline in its monthly vehicles sales figure in May following the closure of its plant in KwaZulu-Natal due to flood damage. Volkswagen, with a 19.8% of the passenger vehicle market share, was second, followed by Kia and Suzuki with 8.8% and 7.8% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 30.6% of the market share to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota maintained its dominance in the light commercial vehicle space with a 54.9% market share despite also recoding significantly lower sales in this segment, followed by Nissan with 12.1% of the market. Hino continues to lead the medium commercial vehicle segment with 33.9% of sales year-to-date. Scania retains its position as the leader in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 31.6% of the market share year-to-date, an increase from last month.

The Bottom Line  

12-month cumulative new passenger vehicle sales continue to increase, rising for the 18^th consecutive month, while 12-month cumulative commercial vehicle sales continue to hover around the 4,800 level, where it has been for the last 14 months. While the month of May has historically been a relatively weaker month for new vehicle sales in Namibia, this year’s decline in May was to an extent driven by the closure of the Toyota plant in KwaZulu-Natal, as the manufacturer recorded an over 50% decline in sales in all segments when compared to its monthly average over the past 12 months. Overall year-to-date new vehicle sales are still roughly in line with those of 2021.