Africa-Press – Namibia. A TOTAL of 734 vehicles were sold during the month of December 2021, compared to 755 units sold in the prior month.
This is according to data provided by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa). In a report quoting Naamsa data, Simonis Securities says vehicle sales increased by 4,3% y/y and decreased by 2,8% m/m in December 2021.
“The medium-commercial vehicles category saw the largest annual increase, however total sales continue to be dominated by passenger vehicles which make up 49% of total sales and light-commercial vehicles (43% of total sales),” said the Simonis report.
It added that during 2021, 9 428 vehicles were sold, compared to 7 612 units sold in 2020 which represents a 23,9% annual increase. Pre-pandemic outbreak, 1 196 vehicles were sold monthly on average compared to 705 vehicles being sold monthly on average post-pandemic outbreak.
“Removing the base effect of April 2021, the average annual increase in vehicle sales stood at 17% for 2021.
“Some of the brands with the highest annual increases in sales in December 2021 compared to 2020, coming off a low base, include Suzuki which rose 95%, Scania trucks up by 77%, Kia (up 66%), Lexus (up 44%) and Land Rover (up 35%),” Simonis said.
In terms of market share, Toyota and Volkswagen continued to dominate the local market and accounted for 34,9% and 13,7% of total vehicles sold in 2021, respectively, the report added.
Comparing market shares of annual sales, Nissan replaced Ford as the third largest brand with 6,2% of total sales in 2021 and Ford moved down to the fourth largest (6,1%).
Lastly, Kia replaced Mercedes as the fifth largest brand, with 4,6% of total sales in 2021. These top five brands accounted for 65,7% of total vehicles sold in 2021.
Motor car prices have on average increased by 8,8% y/y in 2021 compared to 2020, with average spare part prices having increased by 6,4% y/y in 2021 and service and repair charges increasing by 4,6% y/y in 2021.
With a global chip shortage which will unlikely be resolved anytime soon, and given the complexity of the chip manufacturing process used to create increasingly sophisticated chips needed in vehicle design, lead times (time from order to delivery) for chip production can go beyond four months for products already well established on assembly lines.
In addition, switching to different manufacturing sites to increase production capacity usually adds a delay of about six months. Given these issues, automakers are trying to sign agreements with global foundries to ensure chip supplies.
IMPACT ON NAMIBIA “We believe imports of vehicles into Namibia will remain challenging for most of 2022 as a result of ongoing global production challenges.
“In addition, installment credit extension from commercial banks is another constraint on local vehicle sales, as local dealers have alluded to losing numerous deals due to customers not obtaining financing from banks,” Simonis said. This is evidenced by installment and leasing credit contracting by -4,6% y/y and -0,3% y/y for businesses and households in 2021, the report added.
However, demand from local customers will remain more supportive of higher vehicle sales in 2022 than in 2021. Customers who could not source their desired cars in 2021 will likely attempt to do so in 2022, despite an expected rise in interest rates.
“Fewer second-hand vehicles will be available on the market during the first half of 2022, as we are seeing less trade-ins taking place in Namibia and local dealers continue to struggle in sourcing second-hand units from South Africa.
“Hence, prices of new-and second-hand vehicles will remain on an upward trajectory for 2022 due to constrained supply, increased costs being passed through by auto manufacturers and a weaker rand exchange rate which we expect,” said Simonis.
– [email protected]
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
