Category Archives: Vehicle Sales

Vehicle sales remained lacklustre in June with 1,120 vehicles sold. This is a 24.0% decrease from the 1,606 vehicles sold in June of 2016 and a 3.5% m/m increase on the 1,179 vehicles sold in May. Year to date, 6,832 vehicles have been sold, 23.4% less than the corresponding period in 2016, making 2017 the slowest year for car sales since 2012. Of the 6,832 vehicles sold this year, 3,045 were passenger vehicles, 3,427 were light commercial vehicles, and 360 were medium or heavy commercial vehicles.

The declining trend in vehicle sales has been well established, contracting on a year on year basis since mid-2015. Passenger sales have decreased by 19.3% y/y, to 519 cars, while commercial sales have declined by 27.2% y/y. Of the 701 commercial automobiles sold in June: 595 were classified as light, 23 as medium and 83 as heavy. The uptick in heavy commercial vehicles, a 66.0% y/y increase on June 2016, is a positive signal as increased capital spending is a sign of improving business confidence. However, light and medium commercial vehicles remain in contractionary territory decreasing by 32.9% and 11.5% respectively.

On a twelve-month cumulative basis, vehicle sales have declined by 24.1%. Instalment credit, which is mainly used to finance vehicle purchases, has also been slowing considerably. Instalment credit advances grew by only 1.3% y/y in May, the lowest level on our records.

Year to date Toyota and Volkswagen continue to hold a strong market share in the passenger vehicle market based on the number of new vehicles sold, claiming 37% and 27% of the market respectively. They were followed by Ford and Mercedes at 6% and 4% respectively, while the rest of the passenger vehicle market continues to be shared by several competitors. Toyota also remains the leader in light commercial vehicle sales with 47% of the market, followed by Nissan at 15%. Ford and Isuzu claimed 12% and 10% of the number of light commercial vehicles sold in 2017.

Iveco is the leader of medium commercial vehicles with 31% of the market followed by Hino at 30%. In the heavy and extra heavy category, Scania and Mercedes have sold the most vehicles, claiming 27% and 17% of the market respectively. However, after a strong month, UD Trucks came in at a close third, cornering 16% of the number of vehicles sold in 2017.

The Bottom Line

Vehicle sales remained sluggish in June continuing the trend of the last two years. The reasons for the slowdown in sales have been well documented, lower government spending on capital assets, slower economic growth and disposable incomes as well as the credit agreement act have been identified as the main dampers on new vehicles sold. However, with some green shoots starting to appear in the local economy and the encouraging uptick in heavy commercial vehicle sales, as well as base effects, the current climate may improve over the coming year.

Vehicle sales remained lacklustre in May with 1,118 vehicles were sold. This is a 27.2% y/y decrease from the 1,535 vehicles sold in May 2016 but 18.2% m/m higher than the 946 vehicles sold in April.  Year to date 5,527 vehicles have been sold, 24.4% less than the corresponding period in 2016. Of these, 2,534 were passenger vehicles, 2,748 were light commercial vehicles, and 245 were medium or heavy commercial vehicles. These are the lowest year to date numbers in the last five years.

Vehicle sales have been contracting on a year on year basis since mid-2015. The slowdown remains evident in both the passenger and commercial segments, the former having contracted 26.8% y/y while the latter is down by 27.5% y/y. A slow sales numbers in the medium and heavy commercial vehicles remain worrisome, as it indicates a lack of business confidence which may be due to either unwillingness or inability to invest into businesses.

Passenger vehicle sales decreased by 19.8% m/m to 490 vehicles in May, while commercial vehicles sales increased by 16.9% m/m to 628. Of the 628 commercial automobiles sold, 576 were classified as light, 23 as medium and 29 as heavy. The sharp month on month increase was largely due to the low base set in April. However, the last month is still below the average sales normally seen in May.

Year to date Toyota and Volkswagen continue to hold a strong market share in the passenger vehicle market based on the number of new vehicles sold, claiming 34% and 29% of the market respectively. They were followed by Ford and Mercedes at 6% and 4% respectively, while the rest of the passenger vehicle market was shared by several competitors.

Toyota also remains the leader in light commercial vehicle sales with 48% of the market, followed by Nissan at 17%. Ford and Isuzu claimed 13% and 10% of the number of light commercial vehicles sold in 2017. Iveco is the leader of medium commercial vehicles with 32% of the market followed by Hino at 28%. In the heavy and extra heavy category, Scania and Mercedes have sold the most vehicles, claiming 26% and 24% of the market respectively.

The Bottom Line

From mid-2015, the new vehicle market in Namibia has been in a state of decline and it seems this trend will continue well into 2017. Lower government spending, specifically on capital assets have had a direct effect on the number of vehicles sold. Additionally, slower economic growth means that consumers will have lower disposable incomes and many consumers have been reigning in their spending as a result.
Furthermore, the Credit Agreement Act, which was implemented in August of 2016, prescribes a deposit of 10% on all vehicle loans and limits repayment periods to 54 months. This has reduced the number of people eligible for vehicle financing.

Vehicle sales slowed considerably in April with a total of 946 vehicles were sold, a 32.5% m/m decrease from the 1,402 vehicles sold in March and 36.7% lower than April 2016 when 1,495 vehicles were sold. The slowdown is also evident in the 12 month cumulative sales, as the last twelve months saw 15.0% less vehicles being sold relative to the preceding twelve months. Year to date 4,409 new vehicles have been purchased, the lowest level since 2011. Of these, 2,044 were passenger vehicles, 2,172 were light commercial vehicles, and 193 were medium or heavy commercial vehicles.

Vehicle sales have been contracting on a year on year basis since mid-2015 and year-to-date sales are well below the previous five years. The slowdown is evident in both the passenger and commercial segments, the former having contracted 39.9% y/y while the latter is down by 34.1% y/y. The slow sales numbers in the medium and heavy commercial vehicles remain worrisome, as it indicates a lack of business confidence which may be due to either unwillingness or inability to invest into businesses.

Passenger vehicle sales decreased by 40.6% m/m to 409 vehicles in April, while commercial vehicles sales declined by 24.8% m/m to 714. Of the 537 commercial automobiles sold, 489 were classified as light, 12 as medium and 36 as heavy. The sharp month on month decrease seems to seasonal in nature, as vehicle sales are normally higher in March on average. However, the last month is well below the average sales normally seen in April.

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 32% and 31% of the market respectively. They were followed by Ford and Nissan at 5% each, while the rest of the passenger vehicle market was shared by several competitors.

Toyota also remains the leader in light commercial vehicle sales with 49% of the market, followed by Nissan at 16%. Ford and Isuzu claimed 13% and 10% of the number of light commercial vehicles sold in 2017. Iveco is the leader of medium commercial vehicles with 29% of the market followed by Hino at 28%. In the heavy and extra heavy category, Mercedes and Scania have sold the most vehicles, claiming 26% of the market each.

The Bottom Line

From mid-2015, the new vehicle market in Namibia has been in a state of decline and it seems this trend will continue well into 2017. Lower government spending, specifically on capital assets have had a direct effect on the number of vehicles sold. Additionally, slower economic growth means that consumers will have lower disposable incomes and many consumers have been reigning in their spending as a result. Furthermore, the Credit Agreement Act, which was implemented in August of 2016, prescribes a deposit of 10% on all vehicle loans and limits repayment periods to 54 months. This has reduced the number of people eligible for vehicle financing.