New vehicle sales in July 2022 (43 264 units) were 29.9% up on July 2021, according to naamsa.

The July 2022 figures are also 5.4% ahead of June as the local market continues to demonstrate resilience despite the world-wide semiconductor shortage, which is impacting motoring brands and markets across the globe, and constraints and delays in international shipping.

The growth in new vehicle sales also comes as the domestic economy recovers from the April floods in KwaZulu-Natal, and Toyota’s production facility comes back online.

While Passenger vehicle sales grew by 49.3% year-on-year in July to 31 266 units, Light Commercial Vehicles sales were 6.9% down, reaching 9 552 units, when compared with July 2021.

New vehicle sales

Overall sales for the first seven months of 2022 were 13.8% higher than for 2021, and 52.4% above sales in the 2020 window. naamsa reports a total of 296 804 units sold between January and July, of which around 85.0% represented dealer sales. Passenger vehicle sales were up 24.5% year-on-year for the seven months, but sales of LCVs dropped 7.5% compared to 2021.

The car rental industry accounted for an estimated 12.9% of new Passenger car sales over the first seven months of 2022, slightly ahead of the 12.8% share in the 2021 window and the 10.0% in 2020.

January to July: Passenger and Light Commercial new vehicle sales

The market outlook for 2022 is showing some growth over 2021, despite macroeconomic environment pressures. GDP growth is expected to be less in 2022 than 2021, headline consumer inflation is expected to exceed the upper reaches of the Reserve Bank’s target range and the Reserve Bank will continue to hike interest rates over the course of the year. The war in Ukraine is already having an impact on global markets, and this is in addition to the semi-conductor shortage and supply issues.

This puts projected new vehicle sales for 2022 at around 517 500 units, of which 488 000 are Light Vehicles (Passenger and Light Commercial). Overall, growth in new vehicle sales in 2022 is expected to be in the region of 11%.

New vehicle sales: 2017 to 2022

Market observations

The Crossover segment (which includes the likes of the Haval Jolion, Toyota Corolla Cross and Volkswagen T-Cross) was the largest Light Vehicle (Passenger and LCV markets) segment for the first seven months of 2022, with 65 865 new units sold – of which 90.7% were Dealer sales, and 6.4% reported through the Rental channel. Sales in this segment have been impacted by the closure of the Toyota plant in KZN due to flood damage, as this is where the Corolla Cross is manufactured.

Sales for the Crossover segment in the January to July window also picked up 54% from 2021, which in turn was 74% ahead of the segment total for the first seven months of 2020. This makes the Crossover segment the best performing Light Vehicle segment in terms of sales growth. Over the first seven months of 2022, the Crossover segment made up 23% of all Light Vehicle sales, up from the 17% market share this segment enjoyed a year ago.

The second-best performing segment in terms of volume was the Entry segment (eg, Renault Kwid, Toyota Starlet and VW Polo Vivo) with 52 893 units sold over the first seven months of 2022, with sales strengthening from 2021 by 19%.

The second most improved segment for year-on-year growth in sales was the MPV segment (eg, Hyundai Staria, Suzuki Ertiga and Toyota Rumion), with a jump of 37% over the first seven months of 2021.

Light Vehicle segments: share of Light Vehicle market (January - July)