February car sales down 9.3%

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has reported sales of 87,102 new vehicles during the month of February 2019. This represents a decrease of 9.3 per cent on the same period last year.

On a year to date basis, the industry reported 169,096 sales, or a decrease of 8.4 per cent over the same period in 2018.

“Given the current challenging economic conditions, including a downturn in the housing market, the automotive industry is not surprised by the slower start to the year,” said Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI.

The light commercial vehicle market is the only segment which reported an increase during February, with an upswing of 6.0 per cent. Other segments showed a decline: the passenger vehicle market decreased by 21.3 per cent and the sports utility market fell 6.3 per cent versus February 2018.

The three top selling vehicles in the market – the Toyota Hi-Lux with 4,431 sales, the Ford Ranger with 3,377 sales and the Mitsubishi Triton with 3,155 sales, supported the increase in the light commercial vehicle market.

The top selling passenger vehicle was the Mazda 3, with 2,655 sales during the month.