Figures released last week show that new vehicle sales in South Africa dropped by 5.9% to 54 387 units in October compared to the same period last year. But there is a slight increase in the sales figure from September this year to October showing that more people sales were done in October than September. Is this a sign that people are still buying new vehicles even in these high inflation and interest rate times?

The bigger picture shows that consumers are actually feeling the pressure of the NCA (National Credit Act) and interest rate hikes as is seen in the drop from figures over a 12 month period. The rise is sales from September to October this year is largely attributed to the fact that October has more selling day. October is actually the longest month in the year in terms of selling cars.

The fact remains that consumers are always going to want to buy new cars but now the decision has to be thought about very carefully as one has so many factors to consider. Not too long ago, one only had to think about: what type of car do I want? What colour? What is its top speed? Which dealership should I go to? Now one has to look closely at their budget, see how a new car purchase will affect their personal finances. With the ever rising fuel prices, one now also has to look carefully at their cars fuel consumption. No longer is the question, which car do I want? But which car can I afford.

Subscribe

Sign-up to receive the latest updates from TheRandToday.com direct to your mailbox

Loading ...