825 New vehicles were sold in April, which represents a 27.8% m/m decrease from the 1,142 vehicles sold in March, and is down 14.0% from April 2017 when 959 vehicles were sold. Year-to-date 3,886 vehicles have been sold of which 1,829 were passenger vehicles, 1,888 light commercial vehicles, and 169 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, vehicle sales continue to wither with a total of 12,675 new vehicles sold as at April 2018, down 16.6% from the 15,202 sold over the comparable period a year ago, and the lowest since January 2012.
A total of 373 new passenger vehicles were sold during April, decreasing by a substantial 27.9% m/m and 8.8% y/y. Year-to-date passenger vehicle sales rose to 1,829, reflecting lower sales than the preceding five years and a 9.4% decline from April 2017. On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger vehicle sales are at their lowest level since December 2011.
Commercial vehicle sales have declined to 452 units, representing a 27.7% m/m and 17.8% y/y contraction. During April, 397 light commercial vehicles, 25 medium commercial vehicles, and 30 heavy commercial vehicles were sold. On an annual basis, light commercial vehicle sales have declined by 21.4%, medium commercial sales, however, increased by a staggering 78.6%, while heavy and extra heavy sales have contracted by 3.2%. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, light commercial vehicle sales remain depressed, decreasing by 18.9% y/y, while medium commercial vehicle sales increased by 5.9% y/y and heavy commercial vehicle sales increased by 1.1% y/y.
Year-to-date, Toyota and Volkswagen continue to maintain their strong hold on the passenger vehicle market based on the number of new vehicles sold, claiming 37.1% and 28.0% of the market respectively. They were followed by Hyundai and Mercedes at 5.2% and 4.7% respectively, while the rest of the passenger vehicle market continues to be shared by several competitors.
Toyota also remains the leader in the light commercial vehicle space with a 58.1% market share, with Nissan in second place with a 15.3% share. Ford and Isuzu claimed 8.1% and 6.6% of the number of light commercial vehicles for the year, respectively. Hino leads the medium commercial vehicle category with 40.3% of sales while Scania remains number one in the heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment with 22.7% of the market share year to date.
The Bottom Line
Cumulative vehicle sales continue to contract on a rolling 12-month basis, and year-to-date figures are hovering around 2011 levels.