Category Archives: Vehicle Sales

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.

1,134 New vehicles were sold in June, a 23.5% m/m increase from the 918 vehicles sold in May. However on a year on year basis new vehicle sales is down 5.6% from June 2017 when 1,220 vehicles were sold. Year-to-date, 5,938 vehicles have been sold, 12.3% less than in the first half of last year, making 2018 the slowest year for car sales since 2012. Of the 5,938 vehicles sold this year, 2,668 were passenger vehicles, 3,002 were light commercial vehicles, and 268 were medium or heavy commercial vehicles. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 12,371 new vehicles were sold as at June 2018, a decrease of 14.1% from the 14,407 sold over the comparable period a year ago.

A total of 465 new passenger vehicles were sold during June, an increase of 24.3% m/m, but a drop of 10.4% y/y from the 519 passenger vehicles sold in June 2017. Year-to-date passenger vehicle sales amounted to 2,668, representing a decline of 11.9% from the first half of 2017. For the past 6 months, passenger vehicles have, on average, made up 44.9% of the total number of new vehicles sold.

Commercial vehicle sales displayed a similar trend, increasing by 23.0% m/m to 669 vehicles sold in June, but contracting by 1.9% y/y. Of the 669 commercial vehicles sold in June, 607 were classified as light, 26 as medium and 36 as heavy. On an annual basis, light commercial sales grew by 6.3%, medium commercial sales declined 7.1% while heavy and extra heavy sales have contracted by 56.6% albeit from a high base. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, commercial vehicle sales remain lackluster with light commercial vehicle sale decreasing by 14.0% y/y, medium commercial vehicle sales declining 2.8% y/y and heavy commercial vehicle sales contracting by 21.1% y/y.

Toyota continues to lead the market for new passenger vehicle sales in 2018 based on the number of new vehicles sold, claiming 37.5% of the market, followed by Volkswagen with a 27.6% share. They were followed by Hyundai and Kia at 5.4% and 4.8% respectively.

Toyota also remained the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with 60.1% market share, with Nissan in second place with a 14.1% share. Ford and Isuzu claimed 8.9% and 5.5% respectively of the number of new light commercial vehicles sold for the year. Hino leads the medium commercial vehicle category with 44.0% of sales while Scania remains number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 33.6% 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 12,371 at the end of June. Year-on-year, the 12-month cumulative number of new vehicles sold has contracted by 14.1% from the 14,407 cumulative sales recorded in June 2017. The year-on-year decline in new vehicle sales figures suggests that vehicle owners are holding on to the vehicles they already own or purchasing second hand and imported vehicles. The continued slowdown in commercial vehicles sales remains worrisome as it is an indication of lower capital expenditure by corporates and lower business confidence in general.