1,912 new vehicles were sold in Namibia during September, up 12.9% m/m, reflecting a recovery to July’s all-time highs. The improvement in monthly figures was largely caused by strong growth in commercial vehicle sales with passenger vehicle sales dropping for a third month in a row. On an annual basis growth increased by 32.8% from last year September, up from 15.6% in August. To date 15,881 vehicles have been sold this year, up 13.7% from August and 33.5% compared to this time last year.
The 12-month cumulative measure increased to 20,100, an all-time high. This is 35.2% higher than a year ago, and up 2.4% from the previous month.
Sales of passenger vehicles decreased, falling 5.4% m/m to 765 vehicles sold, but up 8.8% compared to a year ago. Year to date, passenger vehicle sales are up 26.3% when compared to the same period of last year. Commercial vehicle sales increased by 29.6% m/m to 1,147 vehicles sold, an increase of 55.6% y/y. Cumulative commercial vehicle sales are up 40% compared to this time last year.
Toyota and Volkswagen dominated the passenger market once again, selling the most vehicles in September, with the two brands claiming 30.3% and 21.8% of sales respectively. Toyota once again was the market leader in light commercial vehicles sales, having the lion’s share of at 49.4% of the market, followed by Nissan at 17.4%.
The Bottom Line
The strong increase in vehicle sales is attributed to a number of factors, namely the on-going expansive fiscal and monetary policy of the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Namibia. The expansion in vehicle purchases in the 2014/15 National Budget continues to play a part in the increases and should carry current levels of vehicle sales through to the end of the year with a slight decline due to the high levels we have seen this month. Current cumulative vehicle sales are less than a month away from surpassing last year’s total figure pointing to another year of strong growth despite monetary policy tightening. Further tightening should have an impact on vehicle sales although this will be partially muted due to government tenders still outstanding.