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.