
Over the course of December 2022, the new-vehicle industry in South Africa registered 41,783 sales, reflecting a 5,839-unit (16.2%) increase over the corresponding month in 2021 and continuing the slow recovery to pre-pandemic levels, revealed Naamsa’s latest new-vehicle sales report.
To the surprise of few, Toyota was the favourite brand for local car buyers with a total of 11,250 units sold, accounting for approximately 27% of the entire market across all vehicle categories.
Toyota held this accolade for all 12 months of the year, despite its Durban factory suffering from severe flooding and being out of operation for around three months which saw its locally-produced models like the Corolla Cross, Hiace, and Hilux’s sales figures take noticeable hits.
Export sales, too, ended the year on a positive note by reporting 26,302 units shipped to foreign markets, a gain of 5,130 units (24.2%).
A look back at 2022
Aggregate new-vehicle sales across the passenger, light-commercial, medium-commercial, and heavy truck and bus segments totalled 528,963 units in 2022, rising by 13.9% when compared to 2021, though they are still 1.4% below the 536,612 units sold in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic took its toll.
“Following a fairly upbeat first quarter 2022 industry performance, global supply chain disruptions along with the impact of the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, elevated inflation, an upward trend in interest rates, record fuel prices, as well as record highs in the frequency and intensity of load shedding weighed heavily on both business and consumer confidence,” said Naamsa.
“However, the new vehicle market’s performance in 2022 remained resilient despite the multiple national and international headwinds.”
In the latter half of the year, the lifting of all lockdown restrictions in the country allowed business and leisure travel to make a comeback, thereby supporting the new-vehicle market at a time when household income was put under strain.
Similarly, stronger performances in the commercial segments with the medium and heavy and bus categories each improving sales by over 11% indicate improved business confidence which helped buoy the industry.
South Africa’s favourite brands
Listed below are the best-selling car brands in South Africa for December 2022, as provided by Naamsa.
Click on the underlined names for more information.
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