Vehicle sales continue to climb

July new vehicle registrations closed on 41 367 units, 20% up on July last year and 3.7% ahead of June sales. This follows June’s strong performance of 20.5% growth over the similar period during 2009.

“The void left by the absence of soccer in South Africans lives seems to have allowed them to return their focus to new vehicle decisions,” says Ford’s vice president of marketing, Dean Stoneley. “While second half sales were expected to be slower than leading up to the World Cup, July numbers indicate a buoyant market driven by dealer sales.”

Passenger car sales drove the overall market growth thanks to its hefty 32.4% increase over July 2009 to 29 203 units, 8.99% better than last month. But Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) were less successful taking a 2.7% knock over the same period last year, 7.2% slower than June.

“Affordability remains an important aspect of new vehicle purchases in SA,” says Stoneley.