Africa-Press – Namibia. ALTHOUGH a number of local dealerships still have large backlogs of orders from customers as a result of limited supply of new vehicles to Namibia, vehicle sales broke a decline of two consecutive months in November 2022, rising by 38,4% year on year in November.
According to an analysis by stockbrokers and wealth managers Simonis Storm Securities, vehicle sales on a monthly basis increased by 4,9% month on month in November, compared to -2,2% month on month in October this year.
“A total of 1 045 new units were sold in November 2022, higher than the long run average of 840 units. Medium and light commercial vehicles recorded the largest annual increases in units sold, and extra-heavy commercial vehicles was the only category which recorded a decline in units sold,” Simonis says.
New passenger vehicle sales surpassed 2019’s sales levels, but commercial vehicle sales only reached 90% of 2019’s sales levels.
“After having peaked with 2 150 units sold in March 2015, vehicle sales have trended lower and now average 906 units per month year to date (January to November).
“The government has commenced its fiscal consolidation plans in 2015, and this could explain a portion of the major decline in vehicle sales since then,” Simonis says.
According to the analysis, global car production totalled 57 billion units in 2021, compared to 73 billion in 2017, and while no monthly data is available for 2022, various news articles and reports from listed car manufacturers indicate that car production across most key manufacturers have declined in recent months.
“Lower global car production would further constrain Namibia’s imports of motor vehicles which still remain below pre-pandemic levels.
“However, commercial vehicle imports have improved since July 2022,” the analysts say, expressing positive caution on new vehicle sales in 2023.
“In our previous report we indicated that new vehicle prices may start showing signs of moderation in early 2023 due to declining commodity prices – a trend we expect to persist into mid-2023.”
Lower commodity prices, especially for metal, coupled with a stronger rand exchange rate, may lead to a slowdown in new vehicle price hikes by local dealers who still have large backlogs of orders from customers, Simonis says.
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