New vehicle sales for September were down 1.9% year-on-year with a total of 49,670 units sold according to the latest aggregate sales data from the National Automobile Association of South Africa.

This means that from a year-to-date point of view, total industry sales were on par with the first nine months of 2017, coming in marginally lower at -0.8%.

Speaking on the results, Ghana Msibi, WesBank executive head of sales and marketing, noted that retail consumers have felt a pinch in their wallets because of a combination of economic factors such as price increases from manufacturers due to the weakening rand, the VAT hike in April and ongoing fuel price increases.

However, he noted that total new vehicle sales through the dealer channel have remained relatively strong, showing an increase of 1.9% year-to-date.

“Economic headwinds are likely to persist and cause continued strain on the automotive industry. However, we are encouraged by new vehicle sales though the dealer network that increased 0.9% month-on-month and 1.9% year-to-date,” Msibi said.

“As we enter the final quarter of 2018, we remain hopeful that our prediction of 0.75% total industry growth can still be achieved, but not without some challenges.”

He added that rentals sales increased significantly in September at 20.1% year-on-year, but remained subdued at -3.6% year-to-date.

“The increase in rental sales is a seasonal trend seen this time of year as rental companies gear up for the pending holiday season,” explained John Loxton, WesBank executive head of Fleet Management and Leasing.

Below are South Africa’s bestselling cars for the month of September 2018.

Rank Car Units sold 1 VW Polo 3 532 2 VW Polo Vivo 1 976 3 Toyota Corolla Quest 1 375 4 Toyota Fortuner 1 345 5 Toyota Yaris 1 111 6 Hyundai Grand i10 1 049 7 Ford Fiesta 837 8 Renaul Kwid 808 9 Kia Picanto 750 10 Toyota etios 738

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