The South African automotive industry trade association, NAAMSA, has reported January 2002 new vehicle sales 8.7% ahead of last year. NAAMSA commented that new vehicle sales had ‘started the year on a positive note supported by continued strong pre-emptive buying in advance of expected further sharp new vehicle price increases’.
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In January 2002 new passenger car sales reached 22,463 units, 10.5% ahead of the previous year level.
NAAMSA reported that ‘the general industry view’ was that the pattern of buying ahead of price rises would likely continue during the month of February. Thereafter, the association expects the market to soften substantially, primarily due to projected steep new vehicle price increases in the pipeline due to the sharp weakening of the rand in recent months.
In 2001 the South African passenger car market expanded by 6.7% to 239,070 units. The market spiked towards the end of the year as consumers brought purchases forward ahead of expected January price increases.
The December market was almost 19% ahead of year-ago levels, so January represents a slowing in the rate of increase.
Many industry observers forecast a flat or slightly down market for 2002 as a whole.
However, the upside of the weak currency will be continuing growth in exports.
