Lowest car sales in five years

Johannesburg - New vehicle sales ended 2009 on a relatively weak note, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Naamsa) said on Friday.

"December monthly sales are normally the lowest in any calendar year," Naamsa added in a statement.

It said aggregate new vehicle sales during December 2009 stood at 30 478 vehicles - a decline of 2 347 vehicles or 7.2%. This is compared to total new vehicle sales of 32 825 units in December 2008.

On a market segment basis, vehicle sales during December 2009 (excluding the sales of light commercials, buses and Amalgamated Motor Holdings sales) registered sharp declines in every segment compared to December 2008.

Turning to 2009 as a whole, Naamsa said new vehicle sales had declined sharply in every sector.

Industry aggregate sales had declined by 138 157 units or 25.9% to 395 230 vehicles, compared to the 533 387 units sold during 2008.

"This represents the lowest industry annual sales level since 2003 and underlines the disproportionately severe impact of the three-and-a-half-year recession on the domestic market, compounded by the shock to the South African economy of the global financial and economic crisis," Naamsa said.

- Sapa