Category Archives: Vehicle Sales

982 New vehicles were sold in September, which represents a 7.4% m/m decrease from the 1,061 vehicles sold in August, and a 13.4% y/y decrease from September 2017. Year-to-date 9,052 vehicles have been sold of which 3,962 were passenger vehicles, 4,607 light commercial vehicles, and 483 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 11,879 new vehicles were sold as at 30 September 2018, representing a contraction of 13.7% from the 13,765 sold over the comparable period a year ago.

A total of 333 new passenger vehicles were sold during September, declining by 20.9% m/m and 23.1% y/y. Year-to-date passenger vehicle sales rose to 3,962, down 8.9% when compared to the number sold by September last year. For the past three quarters, passenger vehicles have, on average, made up 43.7% of the total number of new vehicles sold.

649 New commercial vehicles were sold in September, representing a 1.4% m/m increase, but a 7.4% y/y contraction. 584 light commercial vehicles, 28 medium commercial vehicles, and 37 heavy commercial vehicles were sold during the month. On a year-on-year basis, light commercial vehicle sales have dropped by 8.8%, medium commercial sales were flat, and heavy and extra heavy sales rose by 12.1%. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicle sales dropped 17.2% y/y, medium commercial vehicle sales declined by 1.6% y/y, and heavy commercial vehicle sales dropped 2.1% y/y.

Year-to-date, Toyota and Volkswagen continue to hold their market share in the passenger vehicle market based on the number of new vehicles sold, claiming 34.8% and 27.8% of the market respectively. They were followed by Hyundai at 5.8% and Kia at 4.8%, while the rest of the passenger vehicle market was shared by several competitors.

Toyota also remained the leader in the light commercial vehicles space with a robust 56.8% market share, with Nissan in second place with a 18.1% share. Ford and Isuzu claimed 8.6% and 5.1%, respectively, of the number of light commercial vehicles sold year-to-date. Hino leads the medium commercial vehicle category with 44.3% of sales while Scania remains number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 37.5% of the market share year-to-date.

The Bottom Line

The cumulative number of new vehicle sales continued to contract on a 12-month basis, amounting to 11,879 at the end of September. Year-on-year, the 12-month cumulative number of new vehicles sold has contracted by 13.7% from the 13,765 cumulative sales recorded in September 2017. If implemented, the proposed changes to the income tax legislation is very likely to have a negative impact on economic growth, and put additional pressure on both individuals and corporates. This means that lower spending on capital assets will reduce the demand which is already under pressure for both passenger and commercial vehicles.

A total of 1,061 new vehicles were sold in August, representing an 11.0% m/m decrease from the 1,192 vehicles sold in July, but 1.7% more than in August 2017. Year-to-date 8,070 vehicles have been sold of which 3,629 were passenger vehicles, 4,023 light commercial vehicles, and 418 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. On a rolling 12-month basis, a total of 12,031 new vehicles were sold as at 31 August 2018, representing a contraction of 13.1% from the 13,848 sold over the comparable period a year ago.

A total of 421 new passenger vehicles were sold during August, decreasing by a hefty 30.4% m/m. From a year-on-year perspective however, 39 more units were sold in August 2018 (up 10.2%) than a year ago. Year-to-date passenger vehicle sales rose to 3,629 units, reflecting a 7.3% decline from August 2017.

640 New commercial vehicles were sold in August, representing a 9.0% m/m increase, but a 3.2% y/y contraction. 552 light commercial vehicles, 17 medium commercial vehicles, and 71 heavy commercial vehicles were sold during the month. On a year-on-year basis, light commercial vehicle sales have dropped by 10.2%, medium commercial sales increased 41.7% and heavy and extra heavy sales rose by 108.8%. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, commercial vehicle sales remain depressed with light commercial vehicle sales decreasing by 16.9% y/y, medium commercial vehicle sales declining by 0.8% y/y and heavy commercial vehicle sales dropping by 4.8% y/y.

Toyota continues to lead the market for new passenger vehicles sales in 2018 based on the number of new vehicles sold, claiming 35.5% of the market, followed by Volkswagen with a 28.0% share. They were followed by Hyundai and Kia at 5.5% and 4.7% respectively.

Toyota also remained the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with 57.5% market share, with Nissan in second place with a 16.5% share. Ford and Isuzu claimed 9.0% and 5.3% respectively of the number of new light commercial vehicles sold for the year. Hino leads the medium commercial vehicle category with 42.7% of sales while Scania remains number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 36.6% of the market share year-to-date.

The Bottom Line

The outlook for new vehicle sales remains bleak with the cumulative number of new vehicle sales as at the end of August amounting to 12,031, a decline of 47.0% from the peak of 22,664 new vehicle sales recorded in April 2015. Year-on-year, the cumulative number of new vehicles sold has contracted by 13.1% from the 13,848 cumulative sales recorded in August 2017. Factors such as fiscal consolidation, low consumer and business confidence, expected fuel price increases, coupled with an increasing likelihood of interest hikes over the next 24 months, mean that no significant recovery in vehicle sales can be expected over the short to medium-term.

New vehicle sales of 1,194 units were recorded in July, with sales falling by 7.0% from the 1,284 new vehicles sold in July 2017. On a month-on-month basis new vehicle sales increased by 5.3% as 60 more vehicles were sold in July than in June. Year-to-date, 7,132 new vehicles have been sold, an 11.4% decrease from the number of sales recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.  Of the 7,132 vehicles sold this year, 3,275 were passenger vehicles, 3,527 were light commercial vehicles, and 330 were medium and heavy commercial vehicles. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 12,281 new vehicles were sold as at July 2018, a decrease of 13.2% from the 14,147 sold over the comparable period a year ago. Thus on a twelve month cumulative basis new vehicle sales are still declining as the Namibian economy continues to languish.

A total of 607 new passenger vehicles were sold during July, representing an increase of 30.5% m/m and 22.4% y/y. Year-to-date passenger vehicle sales amounted to 3,275, down 7.1% compared to the number sold by July last year. The rolling 12-month vehicles sales figures continue to reflect weakness in the number of passenger vehicles sold, declining 10.3% y/y as at July 2018.

587 Commercial vehicles were sold in July, representing a 12.3% m/m and 25.5% y/y contraction. 525 light commercial vehicles, 31 medium commercial vehicles, and 31 heavy commercial vehicles were sold during the month. On a year-on-year basis, light commercial sales have declined by a hefty 29.2%, medium commercial sales increased 72.2% and heavy and extra heavy sales rose by 10.7%. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, commercial vehicle sales remain depressed with light commercial vehicle sales decreasing by 15.8% y/y, medium commercial vehicle sales remaining flat and heavy commercial vehicle sales dropping by 14.6% y/y. We prefer to look at the twelve-month cumulative figures as they give an indication of the trend in vehicle sales. For the most part this measure of new vehicle sales remains firmly in contractionary territory, with only medium commercial vehicle sales showing some evidence of having reached a turnaround point.

Year-to-date, Toyota and Volkswagen continue to hold their market share in the passenger vehicle market based on the number of new vehicles sold, claiming 37.8% and 27.1% of the market respectively. They were followed by Hyundai at 5.1% and Kia at 4.6%, while the rest of the passenger vehicle market was shared by several competitors.

Toyota also remained the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with a robust 59.8% market share with Nissan in second place with a 14.6% share. Ford and Isuzu claimed 9.2% and 5.4%, respectively, of the number of light commercial vehicles sold so far in 2018. Hino leads the medium commercial vehicle category with 43.5% of sales while Scania remains number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 32.2% of the market share year to date.

The Bottom Line

The cumulative number of new vehicle sales continued to contract on a 12-month basis, amounting to 12,281 at the end of July. Year-on-year, the 12-month cumulative number of new vehicles sold has contracted by 13.2% from the 14,147 cumulative sales recorded in July 2017. While passenger vehicle sales have picked up on both a monthly and annual basis in July, commercial vehicle sales remain depressed, and overall sales remain well below the figures seen in 2015 and 2016. Low government spending on capital assets, slow economic growth and disposable income growth as well as amendments to the credit agreement act have been identified as the main impediments on new vehicle sales. These factors coupled with a weakening currency and increasing fuel prices make it unlikely that significant recovery in vehicle sales can be expected for the rest of the year.