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11,6% market share for GMSA with 6 716 sales for month
- Chevrolet Utility continues leadership in sub-1 Ton segment with 53,6% of sales
- Chevrolet Sonic ranked 8th in total passenger sales with 969 sales
- Chevrolet Spark rounds out top ten best passenger sellers with 688 units
General Motors South Africa (GMSA) achieved a market share of 11,6% with 6 716 sales in a total vehicle market of 57 845 units in October as reported by NAAMSA. While up on September sales the vehicle market continued to show a softer growth trend than that experienced during the first nine months of the year.
“Vehicle sales in October continued to show growth compared to 2011 with stronger than anticipated sales month in October but with continued evidence of a tightening up in trading conditions,” says Malcolm Gauld, GMSA’s Vice President, Sales and Marketing. “A pause in the market was anticipated for the latter part of the year with a soft landing being forecast, and the indication is that this will be realised.
“October saw sales accelerate beyond 10% month-on-month versus 2011 once again. In the passenger sector the private buyer remains the driving force with a continued focus on the lower end of the market. This sector delivered growth of 13,1% over the same month last year with 41 636 passenger vehicles sold during the month.
“The light commercial sector once again provided an indication of some hesitancy to commit to fleet expansion in the business sector with sales just 5,3% up on October 2011 with 13 667 deliveries for the month. Leads and lags in the market for larger commercial vehicles saw a recovery in medium commercial vehicle sales compared to September. The market for heavy trucks was well up on September with 546 sales, up 28,2% on the same month last year but just 3,3% up over the ten month period year-to-date. Extra heavy vehicle sales were somewhat down compared to last year but remain in the 10% growth range for the past ten months.
The motor industry remains on target to achieve 10% growth for the year. With year-to-date sales of just under 425,000 units, the forecast of a full year 620,000 industry is both realistic and achievable.
“GMSA’s continues to grow its presence in the market with an 11,6% market share for the month and two significant new models. The Cruze Hatch experienced its first full month of sales during October, and the much anticipated Chevrolet Trailblazer has just started arriving in our dealer showrooms. The Chevrolet Utility continues in a commanding position as the most popular small pick-up in the market with close to 54% of sales in its sector with 1 763 units sold. In the passenger sector the Sonic was ranked as number eight with sales agonisingly short of the 1 000 unit mark at 969 units while the locally manufactured Chevrolet Spark rounded out the top ten passenger rankings for the month with 688 sales.”
