SOUTH AFRICA: Ford's Response -- August 2000 NAAMSA retail sales

New vehicle retail sales results reported to NAAMSA for August 2000 came in at 30 784 units, over seven percent up on last month (July 2000).

"New vehicle retail sales certainly bounced back during August, considering the relatively poor showing for July," says Marcos S. Oliveira, CEO and Group Managing Director of the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. "We are particularly pleased at the way the light commercial market recovered with a nearly 16 per cent increase over July. In our own case, our dealers took advantage of an improvement in vehicle supply as our manufacturing team increased throughput.

"With total new vehicle sales tracking substantially ahead of last year, we believe that consumer confidence is strengthening. However, although we are cautiously optimistic and believe that this trend will continue through to the end of the year, we realise that the economy is still fragile and vulnerable to factors such as the fuel price increase and pressures exerted by exchange rate fluctuations.

"Nevertheless, with all new vehicle retail segments showing growth versus 1999, we believe that small business entrepreneurs are making their presence felt as the economy continues to improve," says Mr. Oliveira.

Source: NAAMSA