FORD CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC AMID CONTINUED MARKET UPSWING

New vehicle sales continue to grow year on year, but the bullish results experienced during the first quarter have slowed slightly. This is according to figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa).

April new vehicle sales ended on 35 763 units, 36% ahead of April 2009, but 17.9% down on March 2010. Year to date sales reflect a 22% increase over the same period last year.

“First quarter sales rallied to three consecutive months of growth, a trend that has continued strongly in April,” says Vice President Sales and Marketing, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, Jacques Brent. “April is a notoriously bad sales month, being interrupted by a spate of public and school holidays, but the market is beginning to reflect its expected levels of absolute monthly sales for the year once the buoyancy of pre-World Cup sales activities begins to wane.”

Passenger and Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) sales shared the brunt of the slowdown by 17.1% to 23 606 and 18.3% to 10 572 units respectively compared to the previous month. However, both sectors showed significant growth over April 2009, passenger car sales increasing 40.7% and LCVs 31.7%.

Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle sales slowed over April 2009 and March 2010, but Extra Heavies and Busses showed substantial gains over the same period last year with busses probably driven by the demand for coaches for the World Cup and for the various city transport projects.

It was a challenging month for Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) mainly driven by very limited vehicle stocks on key volume model lines. April sales slowed 13.2% over April 2009, but were in line with the market drop over the previous month, being 29.4% down. Fiesta remained the top selling passenger car, while Bantam spearheaded the company’s LCV sales.

“The market has realigned itself to a more realistic level,” says Brent. “Vehicle requirements for the World Cup are likely to have been planned for already, with the last major fleet sales expected during May. We expect the market to settle down to a more moderate growth for the remainder of the year, driven by a slow improvement in household financial circumstances.”

TOP 10 NEW PASSENGER VEHICLES
April 2010

1. VW Polo Vivo (1 762)

2. VW Polo (1 132)

3. TOYOTA Corolla (942)

4. MERCEDES-Benz C-Class (932)

5. TOYOTA Fortuner (789)

6. BMW 3 Series (785)

7. VW Golf 6 (558)

8. RENAULT Sandero (490)

9. FORD Fiesta (453)

10. VW Polo Vivo Sedan (425)

TOP 10 NEW LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

April 2010

           

1. TOYOTA Hilux (2 620)

2. OPEL Corsa Utility (1 118)

3. TOYOTA Quantum (947)

4. ISUZU KB (866)

5. FORD Bantam (673)

6. NISSAN NP200 (666)

7. NISSAN NP300 Hardbody (621)

8. FORD Ranger (450)

9. NISSAN Navara (238)

10. MAZDA BT-50 (221)

STORY FROM FORD. SOURCE: NAAMSA