New car sales down 2.1%

Johannesburg - New car sales in South Africa totalled 54 946 units in March, a 2.1% drop from the same month last year partly due to a loss of sales during the Easter holiday, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Naamsa) said on Tuesday.

Naamsa added that there could be a moderation in the rate of growth in sales this year.

"The near-term outlook for the automotive sector would be affected by upward new vehicle pricing pressure as a result of the weaker exchange rate and the April 2013 increase in CO² vehicle emissions taxes on cars and certain categories of light commercials," Naamsa said in a statement.