
The South African car market is so small compared to other countries around the world so any decline is rather noticeable. The likes of Isuzu who have been on a decline for months at least have bounced back and stopped the market share slide.
This is something I have been keeping an eye on for a while now as I would like to see the legacy auto brands fight for their market share. The cheaper Chinese imports have been eating away at this sector for a few years now and it is noticeable how many of these Chinese brands are on the road today. I am no fan of Chinese products and would rather pay a little extra to avoid them wherever possible. Maybe that is just me, but I have dealt with Chinese manufacturers for the last 20 years and let us just say I have little to no trust in what they produce.
The good news from all of this upheaval and turmoil is the consumer will benefit as the legacy brands have to offer more of a deal if they are going to stay in business. Just this week I saw Nisan offering a 7 year warranty plan and a 6 year 90 000 KM service plan which is more in line with what the Chinese brands have been offering. If they want to be competitive they need to fight back offering a similar package deal or they are going to go out of business.
BYD the Chinese automaker has 13 dealerships currently and has an aggressive growth plan with a target of 35 dealerships by the end of next year. That is roughly 1.3 new dealerships added each month with the aim of taking FORD head on with their sights set on the Ford ranger. I suspect Ford will be pivoting and offering something similar to what Nissan has done and this should plug the holes for the time being. For the like of Ford and Nissan this is not about growth, but holding and keeping the market share they have.
Thee economy has not improved and the unemployed figures are still rising month on month so the new car sales figures are not going to keep on growing and will stabilize. Looking at the repossessions is where I am currently looking for my next car the numbers are increasing by roughly 4% per annum with roughly R4 billion repossessed vehicles annually.
Why buy a new car when you can get a low mileage car with a service and warranty plan for 60% of the book value. If you buy smart the amount you pay today you will receive when you sell in three years time. I have done this before and is the only way I buy a vehicle now as buying anew vehicle makes no financial sense. Maybe I will do a post on this and give some examples which will also make me attend the auctions.