“There has been a cardinal shift in the makeup of the South African passenger car market this year when one analyses the Naamsa figures for the first quarter of 2010 with the corresponding period a year ago,” says the chief executive of the McCarthy Group, Brand Pretorius.
“The total market in the three month period has grown by 16.5%, from 60 043 units to 69 951, but the various buyer sectors are completely different.
“Significant growth in sales to the rental companies has occurred as expected with unit sales to these businesses jumping by 88.9% as they fleet up for the expected high demand during the World Cup in June and July. The jump in rental sales of 4 426 was a major contributor – in fact responsible for 45% of the growth in the overall car market of 9 908 units,” explained the CEO of one of the country’s largest vehicle retail groups.
Brand Pretorius went on to say that dealers had also benefitted from the swing in sales trends, with an improvement of 14.6% in their sales. He said that sales to the government shrank substantially in the first quarter, going down by 17.9%, while single unit sales which comprise vehicles that manufacturers and importers put into their own fleets, fell 19% as an indication that they are still feeling the effects of the tight financial situation.
“I do not expect the first quarter buying trend to continue for the rest of the year, particularly as the high sales to rental companies have skewed the market, but I believe it will be a healthier year for the dealers, which are the life blood of the local motor industry,” concluded the McCarthy CEO.
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