Executive summary
- New vehicle sales declined to 1004 vehicles for April 2023, down from 1226 vehicles sold in March 2023. This represented a monthly decline of 18.1%. (Figure 1)
- Sales of passenger, light commercial, medium commercial, and extra heavy vehicles declined by 18.6%, 18.4%, 26.1%, and 2.5% month on month respectively.
- Heavy commercial and bus vehicle sales increased by one and two vehicles, respectively, in April 2023 compared to March 2023
- In the first four months of 2022, 4131 vehicles were sold, compared to 3547 vehicles sold in the same period last year
- Out of 4131 vehicles sold for 2023, 2070 were passenger vehicles, 1833 were Light commercial vehicles, 123 were extra heavy vehicles, 77 were medium commercial vehicles, 21 were heavy commercial vehicles and 7 were buses
Analysis
- Notwithstanding a monthly decline in vehicles sold between April and March 2023, the month of April 2023 recorded the highest number of vehicles sold in April since 2016
- The monthly decline in vehicle sales between April and March 2023 was mainly driven by the low sales of passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicle sales. This could be ascribed to low credit demand as a consequence of an increase in the interest rates in April, additionally, low sales of commercial vehicles could be attributed to subdued commercial activities hence a low demand for commercial transportation services
- On an annual basis, new vehicle sales increased by 10.6%. This implies an improvement in consumer confidence.
- Passenger vehicle sales declined from 575 vehicles sold in March 2023 to 468 in April 2023. This could be attributed to an increase in interest rates and the unavailability of affordable vehicle financing options
- Light commercial vehicle sales declined to 473 for April 2023 from 580 that was recorded in March 2023. This could have been influenced by subdued commercial sector performance
- Heavy commercial vehicle sales increased by one vehicle between April and March 2023. This could be attributed to an improvement in demand for heavy transportation services
Table 1: Monthly vehicle sales by type
| Market | Mar-23 | Apr-23 | Monthly unit change | Monthly % change |
| Passenger vehicles | 575 | 468 | -107.0 | -18.6 |
| Light commercial vehicles | 580 | 473 | -107.0 | -18.4 |
| Medium commercial vehicles sales | 23 | 17 | -6.0 | -26.1 |
| Heavy commercial vehicle sales | 5 | 6 | 1.0 | 20.0 |
| Extra heavy commercial vehicle sales | 40 | 39 | -1.0 | -2.5 |
| Bus | 3 | 1 | -2.0 | -66.7 |
Figure 1: Monthly Vehicle Sales (April 2022 – April 2023)
Source: Lightstone Auto & HEI RESEARCH
Figure 2: Year on Year, Vehicle Sales Growth (April 2022- April 2023)
Source: Lightstone (Pty) Ltd & HEI RESEARCH
Outlook
The high-interest rates and inflation led to the erosion of purchasing power for businesses and households, however, the demand for new vehicles has been resilient. We are of the view that the magnitude of interest rate hikes, the level of inflation, and the state of the economy will all have an impact on new vehicle sales in the short to medium term.