Category Archives: Vehicle Sales

1,054 new vehicles were sold in March, which is 175 more than were sold in February and represents a 14.7% y/y increase from the 919 vehicles sold in March 2021. March’s sales figure is the first time since May 2019 that new vehicle sales have surpassed the 1,000 level. 2,645 new vehicles were sold during the first quarter, of which 1,375 were passenger vehicles, 1,099 light commercial vehicles, and 171 medium- and heavy commercial vehicles. By comparison, the first three months of 2021 saw 2,505 new vehicles sold. On a 12-month cumulative basis, a total of 9,568 new vehicles were sold as at March 2022, representing an increase of 21.2% y/y from the 7,896 sold over the comparative period a year ago, although it should be noted that this growth rate has been slowing since December last year.

529 new passenger vehicles were sold during March, an increase of 20.5% m/m from the 439 sold in February, and an increase of 44.5% y/y from the 366 vehicles sold in March 2021. Year-to-date, passenger vehicle sales rose to 1,375 in the first quarter, 21.6% higher than during the same period in 2021 and 45.0% higher than the first quarter of 2020. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales have increased by 39.3% y/y to 4,728.

A total of 525 new commercial vehicles were sold in March, a representing an increase of 18.2% m/m but a decline of 5.1% y/y. The month-on-month increase was driven by a strong increase in light commercial vehicle sales, while both the medium- and heavy commercial vehicle subcategories recorded fewer sales than the preceding month. Light commercial vehicle sales fell 4.9% y/y, medium commercial vehicle sales dropped by 37.5% y/y while heavy commercial vehicle sales rose by 13.2% y/y.  On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicle sales have increased by 3.3% y/y to 4,083, medium commercial vehicles rose by 20.6% y/y to 193, and heavy commercial vehicles climbed by 44.6% y/y to 564.

Toyota continue to enjoy a strong lead in the new passenger vehicle sales segment, claiming 38.9% of the on a year-to-date basis, followed by Volkswagen with a 19.3% share and slightly up from the previous month. They were followed by Kia and Suzuki with 7.3% and 4.9% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 29.5% of the market to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota remained the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with a 60.9% market share and an increase from the previous month. Nissan came in second place claiming a market share of 10.3%, also slightly higher than in the previous month. Hino remain the leader in the medium commercial vehicle space claiming 36.1% of the market share, followed by Toyota with a market share of 19.4%. Scania remained number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 30.4% of the market share year-to-date.

The Bottom Line  

As mentioned earlier, March’s sales figure is the first time since May 2019, that monthly new vehicle sales have surpassed the 1,000 level. It is worth noting that March new vehicle sales generally have a seasonal effect of being slightly higher than the surrounding months. Due to this seasonal effect, we expect to see monthly new vehicle sales to return to the levels witnessed in the last 18 months. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales continued to increase, rising for the 16th consecutive month. On a monthly basis, new commercial vehicle sales encouragingly continued to tick up for a third consecutive month, although the March seasonal effect likely played a role here as well. 12-month cumulative new commercial vehicle sales have remained steady at the 4,100 level since April last year.  

A total of 883 new vehicles were sold in February, which is 178 more than were sold in January but represents a 1.1% y/y decrease from the 893 vehicles sold in February 2021. During the first two months 1,588 new vehicles have been sold, of which 843 were passenger vehicles, 632 light commercial vehicles, and 113 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. By comparison, the first two months of 2021 saw 1,586 new vehicles sold. 2022 is thus off to a similar start compared to last year. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new vehicle sales have grown by 22.0% y/y to 9,430.

439 new passenger vehicles were sold during February, an increase of 8.7% m/m from the 404 sold in January, and an increase of 6.8% y/y from the 411 vehicles sold in February 2021. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales have increased by 36.5% y/y to 4,562. Encouragingly, on a year-to-date basis, new passenger vehicle sales for February have exceeded 2020 and 2021 levels, with the 843 sold so far this year, 78 more than in 2021 and 209 higher than over the same period in 2020.

444 commercial vehicles were sold in February, a 47.5% m/m increase but 7.9% y/y decrease. While all three sub-categories recorded better sales than last month, the monthly increase was primarily driven by a strong increase in light commercial vehicle sales of 37.6% m/m following the relatively sharp decline in January. Medium commercial vehicle sales rose by 23.1% y/y while heavy commercial vehicle sales fell by 7.5% y/y.  On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicle sales have increased by 6.6% y/y, medium commercial vehicles rose by 27.0% y/y, and heavy commercial vehicles recorded an increase of 46.7% y/y.

Toyota enjoys a strong lead in the passenger vehicle sales segment with a with a 40.3% of the segment sales year-to-date, followed by Volkswagen with 16.6% of the market share.  Both manufacturers have started the year off on a strong foot that will make it difficult for other manufacturers to catch up. They were followed by Kia and Suzuki with 8.1% and 5.6% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 29.4% of the market to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota remained the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with a 57.8% market share. Nissan came in second place claiming a market share of 9.9%. Hino claimed 42.9% of the market for medium commercial vehicles, followed by Toyota with a market share of 19.0%. There appears to be relatively stronger competition in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle space as Scania, Volvo Trucks and MAN achieved market shares of 30%, 17% and 12% respectively.

The Bottom Line  

February’s new vehicle sales figure of 883 was the highest number since March 2021, when 919 new vehicles were sold. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales have encouragingly increased 15 consecutive months, possibly reflecting a minor uptick in consumer confidence. As mentioned last month, the strong increase in commercial vehicle sales is positive news, as it indicates that a few companies and mines are starting to upgrade their fleets. This indicates improving business optimism. While we estimate new vehicle sales to be marginally higher than the previous two years as the economy starts recovering, we do not expect to see a major uptick in sales the short-term. The recently tabled 2022/23 national budget also indicated that the government will not be a major buyer of new vehicles in the coming financial year.

A total of 705 new vehicles were sold in January, which is 29 fewer than were sold in December, but represents a 1.7% y/y increase from the 693 new vehicles sold in January 2021. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 9,440 new vehicles were sold up to the end of January 2022, representing an increase of 23.7% from the 7,633 new vehicles sold over the same 12-month period a year ago. 2022 is thus off a somewhat better start than January 2021, however, new vehicle sales remain sluggish.

404 New passenger vehicles were sold during January, an increase of 11.6% m/m from the 362 sold in December, and 14.1% higher y/y from the 354 new passenger vehicles sold in January 2021. On a rolling 12-month basis, new passenger vehicle sales rose 38.6% y/y at the end of January, although the figure is from a very low base. 12-month cumulative passenger vehicle sales were down 53.9% from the peak in April 2015.

Commercial vehicle sales declined to 301 units in January, representing a contraction of 19.1% m/m and 11.2% y/y. During the month 266 light commercial vehicles, 5 medium commercial vehicles, and 30 heavy commercial vehicles were sold. On a year-on-year basis, light commercial sales fell by 11.6% y/y, medium commercial vehicles contracted by 44.4% y/y, and heavy and extra heavy vehicle sales grew by 3.4% y/y. Encouragingly, all categories have recorded growth on a twelve-month cumulative basis with light commercial vehicle sales increasing by 8.0% y/y, medium commercial vehicles rising by 19.2% y/y and heavy commercial vehicle sales growing by 27.3% y/y. 

Toyota started the year off on a strong foot with a 37.6% market share of new passenger vehicles sold, followed by Volkswagen with a 21.0% market share. They were followed by Kia and Suzuki who each had a 7.7% and 5.9% market share, respectively, while the rest of the passenger vehicle market was shared by several other competitors.

Toyota also started the year off with a solid grip on the light commercial vehicle market with a 56.4% market share, with Nissan in second place with a 11.3% market share. Volkswagen and Ford claimed 7.5% and 6.0% of the number of new light commercial vehicles sold during the month, respectively. Hino was number one in the medium commercial vehicle category with 40.0% of sales, while Mercedes, UD Trucks and Volvo Trucks collectively led the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment, each with a 16.7% market share during the month.

The Bottom Line  

New vehicle sales started the year off stronger than the first month of the prior three years, but not materially so. As pointed out in last month’s report, the growth has largely been driven by a rebound in new passenger vehicle sales, with total commercial vehicles sales still hovering around 2009 levels. The relatively strong heavy commercial vehicle sales are however encouraging as it suggests that some fleets are being upgraded indicating business optimism. While we do expect to see new vehicle sales come in slightly higher than the prior two years as the economy starts recovering, we expect overall sales to remain sluggish and a far cry from the levels seen in 2014 – 2016.