Category Archives: Vehicle Sales

A total of 1,103 new vehicles were sold in February, 294 more than the upward revised figure of January, and represents a 24.9% y/y increase from the 883 new vehicles sold in February 2023. 1,912 new vehicles were sold during the first two months of 2023, of which 1,035 were passenger vehicles, 783 light commercial vehicles, and 94 medium- and heavy commercial vehicles. By comparison, the first two months of 2022 saw 1,591 new vehicles sold. 2023 is thus off to a strong start compared to last year. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new vehicle sales rose by 19.2% y/y to 11,244.

559 New passenger vehicles were sold during February, an increase of 17.4% m/m and 27.3% y/y. This is the highest monthly number of new passenger vehicle sales since July 2018. On a 12-month cumulative basis, new passenger vehicle sales have increased by 26.2% y/y to 5,763. The 1,035 new passenger vehicles sold so far this year marks the highest number of year-to-date sales by February since 2016. Compared to the same period in 2022, the year-to-date figure for February has increased by 189 units or 22.3% y/y.

February was a similarly strong month for new commercial vehicle sales, with the 544 units sold during the month the highest monthly figure since March 2021. New commercial vehicle sales rose 63.4% m/m and 22.5% y/y in February. The month saw 486 light commercial vehicles, 25 medium commercial vehicles, and 33 heavy commercial vehicles sold. On a year-on-year basis, light commercial sales rose by 32.8% y/y, medium commercial vehicles grew by 56.3% y/y, and heavy and extra heavy vehicle sales declined by 46.8% y/y from a high base in February 2022. All sub-categories, bar heavy- and extra heavy vehicles, have recorded growth on a twelve-month cumulative basis with light commercial vehicle sales increasing by 16.6% y/y, medium commercial vehicles sale rising by 12.4% y/y, while heavy commercial vehicle sales contracted by 16.7% y/y.

Toyota enjoy a strong lead in the new passenger vehicle sales segment, capturing 37.8% of the segment sales year-to-date, followed by Volkswagen with 24.3% 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 8.3% and 5.4% of the market, respectively, leaving the remaining 24.3% of the market to other brands.

On a year-to-date basis, Toyota remained the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with a dominant 57.2% market share. Ford came in second place claiming a market share of 8.2%. Mercedes and Toyota continued to collectively lead the medium commercial vehicle market, each with a market share of 27.0%. Mercedes also claimed the top spot of heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicles with a market share of 28.1%. 

The Bottom Line  

February’s new vehicle sales figure of 1,103 was the highest number since November 2018 when 1,197 new vehicles were sold. The month-on-month increase was mainly driven by the 211 unit increase in commercial vehicle sales, although the 83 unit increase in passenger vehicle sales is by no means insignificant. As mentioned in last month’s report, the 12-month new vehicle sales cumulative figure is trending at levels last seen in 2019. February’s 12-month cumulative figure is still down 50.4% from the peak of 22,664 recorded in April 2015, but the strong momentum in both the passenger- and commercial vehicle segments is encouraging to see. 

A total of 798 new vehicles were sold in January, which is 154 fewer than were sold in December, but represents a 12.7% y/y increase from the 708 new vehicles sold in January 2022. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, a total of 11,013 new vehicles were sold up to the end of January 2023, representing an increase of 16.6% from the 9,442 new vehicles sold over the same 12-month period a year ago. 2023 is off to a decent start with January’s new vehicle sales up for the 5th consecutive year.

468 New passenger vehicles were sold during January, a decrease of 7.1% m/m from the 504 sold in December, but 15.0% higher y/y from the 407 new passenger vehicles sold in January 2022. On a rolling 12-month basis, new passenger vehicle sales rose 24.2% y/y at the end of January. 12-month cumulative passenger vehicle sales continue to trend higher and are up by 77.0% from the pandemic low, trending at levels last seen in 2017.

Commercial vehicle sales declined to 330 units in January, representing a contraction of 26.3% m/m but is 9.6% higher year-on-year from the 301 new commercial vehicles sold in January 2022. During the month, 294 light commercial vehicles, 12 medium commercial vehicles, and 24 heavy commercial vehicles were sold. On a year-on-year basis, light commercial sales rose by 10.5% y/y, medium commercial vehicles grew by 140.0% y/y, and heavy and extra heavy vehicle sales declined by 20.0% y/y. All sub-categories, bar heavy- and extra heavy vehicles, have recorded growth on a twelve-month cumulative basis with light commercial vehicle sales increasing by 12.6% y/y, medium commercial vehicles sale rising by 9.5% y/y, while heavy commercial vehicle sales contracted by 12.3% y/y.

Both Toyota and Volkswagen started the new year strong and collectively sold more than half of the new passenger vehicles in January. Toyota captured the largest portion with 38.2% of the market share, followed by Volkswagen with 22.6%. Kia and Haval were the best of the rest, taking 8.8% and 5.1% of the market share, respectively. The other manufacturers consumed the remaining 25.2%.

Toyota also started the year off with a solid grip on the light commercial vehicle segment with a 53.4% market share. Ford came in second place with 8.5% of the market share, followed by Isuzu and Mahindra, with 6.8% each. Mercedes and Toyota collectively led the medium commercial vehicle market, each with a 33.3% market share during the month. Mercedes was also number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment, after taking 33.3% of the market share in January, followed by Scania with 16.7% of the market share during the month.

The Bottom Line  

New vehicle sales started the year off on a solid footing. January’s new vehicle sales are the strongest start to a new year since 2018 with just under 800 vehicles sold during the month. Both passenger and commercial segments grew year-on-year in January and sales in both categories continued to rise on a 12-month cumulative basis during the month. Commercial vehicle sales growth is mainly being driven by light- and medium commercial vehicle sales, while the ‘heavy’ segment recorded lower 12-month cumulative sales for a 5^th consecutive month.  

The 12-month cumulative new vehicle sales figure of 11,013 is trending at levels last seen in 2019. While this is still less than half the high of 22,664 recorded in April 2015, the relatively strong sales figure reported for January is encouraging, considering that vehicle prices and borrowing costs have risen considerably over the past twelve months.

A total of 952 new vehicles were sold in December, down 8.9% m/m from the 1,045 vehicles sold in November, but an increase of 29.7% y/y from the 734 vehicles sold in December 2021. In total, 10,925 new vehicles have been sold in 2022, up by 15.9% y/y from the 9,973 vehicles sold in 2021 and the highest annual number of new vehicles sold since 2019. Of the total vehicles sold during the year, 5,576 were passenger vehicles, 4,638 light commercial vehicles, and 711 medium and heavy commercial vehicles.

504 new passenger vehicles were sold during November, 27 fewer than the 531 sold a month earlier, but an increase of 39.2% y/y from the 362 vehicles sold in December 2021. Toyota was the best seller in this segment after accumulating 31.3% of the sales in December. Volkswagen came in second place with 15.5% of December’s new passenger vehicle sales, followed by Land Rover which saw 65 new vehicles sold – notably more than it has sold for the whole of 2021. New passenger vehicle sales grew by 24.4% y/y in 2022 when compared to the 4,484 new vehicles sold a year prior. With 5,576 new vehicles sold in 2022, the year ended with the highest annual number of passenger vehicles sold since 2016.

448 new commercial vehicles were sold in December, 66 fewer than in November but up by 20.4% y/y from the 372 vehicles sold in December last year. Light commercial vehicle sales dropped by 16.6% m/m to 373 but rose by 18.4% y/y. Medium commercial vehicle sales climbed for the sixth consecutive month, growing by 34.6% m/m to 35, the highest number of medium commercial vehicles sold in a single month since July 2019, and almost double the number sold in December 2021. Heavy commercial vehicle sales remained steady after 40 vehicles were sold, one fewer than last month and slightly below the 42 sold on average in 2022. In total, 4,638 light commercial vehicles were sold in 2022, up by 11.0% y/y from the 4,178 sold in 2021. The total number of medium commercial vehicles sold during the year grew by 3.9% y/y after 211 vehicles were sold in this segment in 2022. The total number of heavy commercial vehicles sold in 2022 however contracted by 11.0% y/y to 500.

Toyota was the best seller in the new passenger vehicle sector with 33.0% of the segment’s sales in 2022. This a remarkable feat considering that Toyota had production challenges on some of their key models due to flood damage at its plant in KwaZulu-Natal for an extended period during the year. Volkswagen was the runner-up with 20.9% of the market share, followed by Kia and Suzuki with 9.3% and 7.5% of the market share, respectively. The other manufacturers, including Hyundai and Haval, consumed the remaining 29.4%.

Toyota was also the top seller in the light commercial vehicle space with 48.1% of the segment’s sales in 2022, followed by Ford with 12.3% of the market share and Nissan with 11.4%. Hino was the best seller in the medium commercial vehicle segment with 30.3% of the segment’s sales in 2022, followed by Mercedes with 26.1% of the market share and Toyota with 16.1%. In the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle market, Scania came out on top with 26.2% of the market share in 2022, followed by Volvo Trucks with 21.0% of the market share and Mercedes with 14.4%.

The Bottom Line  

The 952 vehicles sold in December was the highest number recorded for the month of December since 2015 and pushed the total annual vehicle sales number to pre-pandemic levels, and above the 10,000 level for the first time since 2019, as shown in the year-to-date chart at the beginning of this post. Both passenger and commercial vehicle sales recorded strong growth in 2022. Sales in the heavy commercial vehicle segment contracted in 2022, following a strong recovery in 2021, while the light and medium commercial vehicle segments reported healthy sales growth for the year. Overall, the recovery of new vehicle sales in 2022 was remarkable to see against a backdrop of rising interest rates, and despite being a challenging economic year. But new vehicle sales continue to trail the levels seen prior to 2019 as the chart below depicts.