As Toyota dominates the Namibian market in April
SIMONIS Storm Securities anticipates new vehicle sales to continue trending upwards as local demand remains resilient, despite Namibia being in an interest rate hiking cycle.
The firm’s economist, Theo Klein this week said vehicle sales will also likely be supported by rental companies restocking their fleet levels in anticipation of rising tourist bookings and arrivals.
Klein also highlighted that during April 2022, Toyota dominated the market in terms of new vehicle sales market share. Toyota had 41.5% market share, Volkswagen (13.5%), both Ford and KIA (6%) and both Suzuki and Nissan (5.9%).
“These six brands accounted for 78.8% of total vehicle sales during April 2022,” Klein said adding: “In last month’s report we highlighted that certain dealerships had on average 3% price increases on new vehicles during 1Q2022. According to inflation data from the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), we see a slight uptick in the motor car category. In special cases second hand vehicle prices have surpassed prices of new vehicles due to shortages in supply. Also, average prices of spare parts and accessories and service and repair charges are trending up slightly in recent months.”
New vehicle sales continue to trend above pandemic lows, with the latest data showing new vehicle sales of 905 in April 2022, compared to 1,054 in the prior month (14.1% m/m) and 755 in April 2021 (19.9% y/y).
“Monthly new vehicle sales averages 888 YTD, which is above the average of 706 in the last two years and moving closer to the long run average of 1,219. 2022 is off to a good start as new vehicle sales are trending above sales levels seen in the last three years.
“Passenger and light commercial vehicles continue to be the bulk of new vehicle sales, accounting for 51.5% and 43.3% of total sales respectively in April 2022. On an annual basis, passenger vehicle sales increased by 30.2% y/y, light commercial (21.7% y/y), medium commercial (15.0% y/y), heavy commercial (12.5% y/y) and extra-heavy commercial (56.5% y/y) in April 2022,” further stated Klein.