Category Archives: Vehicle Sales

May observed 792 new vehicle sales, an increase of 4.9% m/m from the 755 vehicles sold in April. As at 31 May, 4,052 new vehicles were sold for the year, of which 1,849 were passenger vehicles, 1,887 light commercial vehicles, and 316 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. By comparison, the first five months of 2020 saw 2,750 new vehicles sold. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 8,914 new vehicles were sold as at May 2021, representing a 1.1% expansion from the 8,820 sold over the comparable period a year ago, though 22.9% lower than at May 2019.

A total of 360 new passenger vehicles were sold during May, a slight uptick of 0.6% from the 358 passenger vehicles sold in April. Year-to-date, passenger vehicle sales rose to 1,849, 56.0% higher than during the same period in 2020, but 11.7% lower than at May 2019. On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger vehicle sales rose to 3,874, 6.0% higher than in May 2020, and 23.2% lower than in May 2019.

A total of 432 new commercial vehicles were sold in May, representing an increase of 8.8% m/m. 371 Light commercial vehicles, 15 medium commercial vehicles, and 46 heavy and extra heavy commercial vehicles were sold during the month. Light commercial vehicle sales rose 15.2% m/m, medium commercial vehicle sales posted a second consecutive month of declines, dropping 25.0% m/m, and heavy commercial vehicle sales decreased by 16.4% m/m. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicle sales have declined by 2.1% y/y, medium commercial vehicles fell by 30.2% y/y, and heavy commercial vehicles entered positive territories for the first time since April, last year, increasing by 10.8% y/y.

Although Volkswagen continues to lead in the new passenger vehicle sales segment, its market share declined from 34.7% last month to 31.2% of sales year-to-date, followed by Toyota whose market share rose to 25.3% from 24.9% a month ago. Kia and Suzuki continued to trail, with 8.7% and 6.2% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 18.1% of the market to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota continued as the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with a 54.0% market share, Nissan maintained second place with a 13.5% market share. Ford and Isuzu claimed 13.1% and 5.8%, respectively, of the number of light commercial vehicles sold thus far in 2021. Mercedes surpassed Hino as the leader in the medium commercial vehicle segment with 33.3% of sales year-to-date. Scania remained number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 23.8% of the market share year-to-date.

The Bottom Line

The number of total new vehicle sales has ticked up every month this year on a year-on-year basis, all but confirming an ongoing recovery in vehicle sales. This is further evidenced by average monthly vehicle sales for 2021 standing at 810, compared to the 634 in 2020. Furthermore, the cumulative 12-month new passenger vehicle sales have been on the rise on a month-on-month basis for 6 consecutive months, indicating improvements in consumer confidence. Despite the glimmers of recovery, total vehicle sales still lag the pre-Covid-19 era, when an average of 868 sales were made per month in 2019. Interestingly, monthly passenger vehicle sales for 2021 have averaged 370, slightly below the average of 380 recorded in 2019. This indicates that it is the commercial sector that has been impacted the hardest by the pandemic and continues to struggle. This year’s monthly average commercial vehicle sales are 9.6% lower than an already low base of 488 in 2019, which indicates muted activity in Namibia’s commercial sector, as few new businesses enter the scene, while existing businesses rely on their existing vehicles instead of expanding their fleet.

755 new vehicles were sold in April, a decrease of 17.9% m/m from the 919 vehicles sold in March. As at 30 April, 3,260 new vehicles were sold for the year, of which 1,489 were passenger vehicles, 1,516 light commercial vehicles, and 255 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. By comparison, the first four months of 2020 saw 2,270 new vehicles sold. 2021 is thus off to a better start compared to last year, although vehicle sales were adversely affected by strict lockdown restrictions during April last year. Due to car dealerships being closed last year April as a result of the strict lockdown measures, year-on-year comparisons are somewhat meaningless. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 8,601 new vehicles were sold as at April 2021, representing a contraction of 8.5% from the 9,398 sold over the comparable period a year ago.

A total of 358 new passenger vehicles were sold during April, decreasing by 2.2% from the 366 passenger vehicles sold in March. Year-to-date, passenger vehicle sales rose to 1,489, 55.8% higher than during the same period in 2020, mostly as a result of the low sales in April 2020. On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger vehicle sales rose to 3,743, 5.0% lower than in April 2020.

A total of 397 new commercial vehicles were sold in April, representing a decrease of 28.2% m/m. 322 Light commercial vehicles, 20 medium commercial vehicles, and 55 heavy and extra heavy commercial vehicles were sold during the month. Light commercial vehicle sales fell 34.4% m/m, medium commercial vehicle sales dropped 16.7% m/m and heavy commercial vehicle sales increased by 44.7% m/m. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicle sales have declined by 10.0% y/y, medium commercial vehicles fell by 32.8% y/y, and heavy commercial vehicles dropped 7.7% y/y.

Volkswagen continues its dominance in the new passenger vehicle sales segment with 34.7% of the segment sales year-to-date, followed by Toyota with 24.9% of the market share. The two top brands maintained their large gap over the rest of the market with Kia and Suzuki following with 6.9% and 5.3% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 28.2% of the market to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota continued as the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with a 53.4% market share, Nissan maintained second place with a 13.8% market share. Ford and Isuzu claimed 12.0% and 6.7%, respectively, of the number of light commercial vehicles sold thus far in 2021. Hino leads in the stagnant medium commercial vehicle segment with 26.1% of sales year-to-date, followed by Mercedes, with 23.9% market share. Scania remained number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 27.6% of the market share year-to-date.

The Bottom Line

Despite tallying the second lowest total vehicle sales thus far in 2021, the 755 total sales are still well above the monthly average of 634 sales in 2020. The cumulative 12-month total vehicle sales rose for the fourth consecutive month since December 2020. This seems to reflect a gradual recovery in the industry. Although vehicle sales have a minor impact on the overall Namibian economy through its relatively small GDP multiplier, it does reflect overall consumer and business confidence. New passenger vehicle sales have been rather steady, revolving around its mean of 372 passenger vehicle sales per month, slightly below 2019 levels of 380, but well above the 291-monthly average in 2020 (excluding April 2020.) Overall, this reflects a recovery in consumer confidence towards pre-Covid-19 levels. However, on the commercial side, uncertainty remains as commercial vehicle sales have been volatile, but remains above average levels in 2020, although still lagging pre-Covid-19 levels. This indicates a slower recovery rate in optimism in the commercial sector compared to consumers.

908 New vehicles were sold in March, an increase of 1.68% m/m from the 893 vehicles sold in February, and a 20.3% y/y increase from the 755 sold in March 2020. For the first three months of 2021 2,494 new vehicles have been sold, of which 1,122 were passenger vehicles, 1,192 light commercial vehicles, and 180 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. By comparison, the first three months of 2020 saw 2,221 new vehicles sold. 2021 is thus off to a slightly better start compared to last year. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 7,885 new vehicles were sold as at March 2021, representing a contraction of 23.3% from the 10,277 sold over the comparable period a year ago.

A total of 357 new passenger vehicles were sold during March, decreasing by 13.1% from the 411 passenger vehicles sold in February. On a year-on-year basis, March new passenger vehicle sales were 13.7% higher than the 314 vehicles sold a year ago. Year-to-date, passenger vehicle sales rose to 1,122, 18.4% higher than during the same period in 2020. On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger vehicle sales rose to 3,384. This translates into four consecutive months of increases in this measure.

A total of 551 new commercial vehicles were sold in March, representing an increase of 14.3% m/m and 24.9% y/y. 489 Light commercial vehicles, 24 medium commercial vehicles, and 38 heavy and extra heavy commercial vehicles were sold during the month. Light commercial vehicle sales rose 25.7% y/y, medium commercial vehicle sales climbed 4.3% y/y and heavy commercial vehicle sales increased by 31.0% y/y. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicle sales have declined by 22.2% y/y, medium commercial vehicles fell by 42.7% y/y, and heavy commercial vehicles dropped 25.0% y/y.

Volkswagen continues its strong lead in the passenger vehicle sales segment with 34.9% of the segment sales year-to-date, followed by Toyota with 25.1% of the market share. The two top brands maintained their large gap over the rest of the market with Kia and Mercedes following with 7.0% and 5.1% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 27.9% of the market to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota remained the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with a 53.5% market share, with Nissan in second place with a 13.8% market share. Ford and Isuzu claimed 12.0% and 6.7%, respectively, of the number of light commercial vehicles sold thus far in 2021. Hino leads the medium commercial vehicle segment with 26.1% of sales year-to-date, while Scania was number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 27.6% of the market share year-to-date.

The Bottom Line

March wrapped up the first quarter of 2021 with 908 new vehicles sold, the highest monthly sales figure since October 2019, when 976 new vehicle sales were sold. Total sales for the quarter were 2,494, making it the strongest quarter since the fourth quarter of 2019, when 2,567 new vehicles were sold. This is a positive sign, as vehicle sales continue to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels, which could indicate somewhat increased levels of consumer confidence. The rolling 12-month number of new vehicle sales rose for a third consecutive month to 7,885. The growth is however from a very low base and overall, 12-month cumulative sales is still down 65.2% from its peak in April 2015.