New vehicle sales down again in SA

The motor industry dropped another gear last month, with total new vehicle sales declining by about 3% compared to the corresponding month last year.

Sales figures released by the automobile manufacturers association (Naamsa) show sales of new passenger cars dropping by 7% while sales of light commercial vehicles declined marginally.

In sharp contrast, sales of medium and heavy commercials, supported by strong investment sentiment and infrastructural spending, shot up by 18 and 35%.

Volkswagen South Africa communications general manager, Bill Stevens, says: “The market continues to be under pressure from macro economic factors such as CPIX and the price of petrol which is now 32% higher than average for 2007 and more than double than in 2003".