Racing cars for Germany to be built by VW in Kariega
- Industry News
- 7 February 2025
Dealer industry news from around Southern Africa
The COVID-19 lockdown has taken its toll on the financial performance of JSE-listed Combined Motor Holdings (CMH), which anticipates reporting a loss for the six months to end-August.
New vehicle sales trends showed an encouraging improvement last month (September) despite still declining overall by 23.9 percent to 37 403 units from the 49 140 vehicles sold in September 2019.
Any increase in the taxes paid on new and used vehicles will increase the overall cost of motoring and have a negative impact on vehicle sales and tax revenue, says National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) chairman Mark Dommisse.
Motus, the vehicle business of Imperial Holdings that was unbundled and separately listed on the JSE, has developed a new online portal where prospective customers will be able to access all the pre-owned vehicle stock in the group.
Most people in the business of selling vehicles think flying cars are pure science fiction, but the first sales of airborne autos is scheduled to happen in 2020.
Consumers are increasingly focusing on low-mileage, pre-owned vehicles with InspectaCar Finance reporting a 160 per cent increase in applications from May 2020 when lockdown levels were first eased compared to August 2020.
Mark Dommisse, Chairperson of the National Automotive Dealer Association, gives his views of the current retail market.
Confidence is returning to the vehicle retail market, but at a slow pace and with a marked concern about the sustainability of the current economic recovery.
Motus, the vehicle business of Imperial Holdings that was unbundled and separately listed on the JSE, maintains its “not all doom and gloom” in the motor vehicle market.
We have undoubtedly reached our fill of COVID-19-related stories, regulations, warnings and lockdown rumours. But, warns Inge Labuschagne, Head of Legal at Styde Consult, we should not forget that we are still under the rules of the Disaster Management Act, which have certain implications for employers and employees.
Two-year old (or younger) used vehicles are set to become a hot commodity as we enter a prolonged period of slow new vehicle sales.
New vehicle sales, as reported by Naamsa, improved from a slow July but they remain significantly below last year’s figures.
At a virtual transport portfolio committee meeting held in the last week of August, KZN’s MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Bheki Ntuli gave reprieve for dealerships who have been struggling to get new trade plates and roadworthy certificates before the expiry deadline on 31 August.
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You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.
Henry Ford