
"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.
Top
Performing New Passsenger Vehicles August 2000
|
|
Model
|
Volume
|
Toyota
Conquest
|
2053
|
Toyota
Corolla
|
2008
|
Ford
Tracer/Mazda Midge
|
1257
|
VW
Polo Classic/Playa
|
1254
|
Opel
Astra/Kadett
|
1152
|
Top
Performing New Light Commercial Vehicles August 2000
|
|
Model
|
Volume
|
Toyota
Hilux
|
1943
|
Isuzu
KB
|
1575
|
Ford
Ranger/ Mazda Drifter
|
1455
|
Mitsubishi
Colt
|
1024
|
Nissan
Hardbody
|
997
|
Source: NAAMSA