By: Natasha Archary
Vehicle sales across the 3 dominant luxury vehicles in South Africa, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have notably declined over the past 10-years.
Chairperson of the National Automobile Dealer’s Association (NADA), Brandon Cohen joins Gugulethu Mfuphi on Kaya Biz to share insight into the trends in the premium vehicle segment.
Total sales of these vehicle brands have significantly decreased from the year 2014 to date, and Brandon says factors including a weak economy, high interest rates and soaring petrol prices are leading factors.
In 2014, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW sales of 71 000+, but in the 4th quarter of 2023 this number dropped to 26 000.
“You ‘re looking at a 63.5% decline and it’s quite shocking. There are multiple reasons including Covid-19 in the middle of that 10-year period didn’t help, but it’s been tough tradining conditions and one of them is that a lot of other brands have caught up in quality, in looks, in all the aspirational things that luxury brands prided themselves.
Then it’s the obvious factor that consumers are under heavy financial strain and it’s very difficult to lay out that kind of money for these vehicles when there’s just so many other options and availability.”
Brandon’s point touched on a previous discussion on Kaya Biz over the average new car prices in South Africa increasing from R386 000 in 2022 to R396 000 currently.
Brand loyalty and disappointment when a vehicle is not available are also factors that might steer buyers in another direction.
Chinese automaker Haval, as an example has seen a huge jump in sales figures from 2019 to date, and it’s the offering of a luxury vehicle for a much more affordable cost that is appealing to most South Africans.
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Biz with Gugulethu Mfuphi:
Also read: Consumer inflation dropped to 5.3 percent in March
