Category Archives: Vehicle Sales

A total of 905 new vehicles were sold in April, a 14.1% m/m contraction but an increase of 19.9% y/y from the 755 vehicles sold in April 2022. Year-to-date 3,550 new vehicles have been sold, of which 1,841 were passenger vehicles, 1,491 light commercial vehicles, and 218 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. By comparison, the first four months of 2021 saw 3,260 new vehicles sold. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 9,718 new vehicles were sold at the end of April, representing a 13.0% y/y increase from the 8,602 sold over the comparable period a year ago.

466 new passenger vehicles were sold during April, 11.9% lower than the 529 passenger vehicles sold in March, but an increase of 30.2% from the 358 sold in April 2021. Year-to-date, passenger vehicle sales rose to 1,841, an increase of 23.6% than during the same period last year. On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger vehicle sales rose to 4,836, 29.2% higher than over the same period in 2021.

New commercial vehicle sales displayed a similar trend, declining month-on-month, but are up from the same month last year. 439 new commercial vehicles were sold in April, representing a month-on-month contraction of 16.4%, but a year-on-year increase of 10.6% y/y. 392 Light commercial vehicles, 17 medium commercial vehicles, and 30 heavy and extra heavy commercial vehicles were sold during the month. Light- and heavy commercial vehicle sales fell by 16.1% m/m and 30.2% m/m, respectively, while medium commercial vehicle sales rose by 13.3% m/m. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicle sales are down 2.0% y/y, while medium commercial vehicle sales rose by 6.7% y/y, and heavy commercial vehicles climbed by 21.1% y/y.

Toyota continues to lead the new passenger vehicle sales segment with 36.8% 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 7.9% and 6.1% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 28.8% of the market to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota maintained its dominance in the light commercial vehicle space with a 60.6% market share, followed by Nissan with 10.7% of the market. Hino leads the medium commercial vehicle segment with 37.7% of sales year-to-date. Scania remained number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 27.3% of the market share year-to-date. 

The Bottom Line  

We noted in last month’s report that March new vehicle sales generally have a seasonal effect of being slightly higher than the surrounding months, and that we expect to see April’s new vehicle sales to return to the levels witnessed in the last 18 months. This has now transpired with new vehicle sales being 14.1% lower than last month. New vehicle sales were however 19.9% higher than during the same month a year ago and 13.5% higher than the average monthly sales figure over the past twelve months. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales continued to increase, rising for the 17^th consecutive month. New commercial vehicle sales however continue to hover around the 4,800 level where it has been trending for the past year.

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.