Martin Endjala
In November 2023, the automotive market experienced a notable upswing, with vehicle sales surging by 12.4 percent.
This positive shift comes after four consecutive months of decline. In contrast to the previous month’s downturn of -12.5 percent, the sales recorded a substantial increase of 27 percent.
Economist Halleluya Ndimulunde reported that the total number of units sold in November reached 1,171. She emphasized the varying performances in different segments of the market. T
The heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) sector faced a significant downturn, witnessing a steep 37.5 percent decrease in units sold. Conversely, the light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment emerged as the dominant growth driver, exhibiting a robust 21.3 percent increase in units sold, surpassing other categories, except for buses.
Ndimulunde highlighted that the commercial vehicles category notably dominated overall vehicle sales in November 2023, contributing a significant 603 units to the total sales, marking a 17.3 percent increase.
The market for new passenger vehicles showed a positive trajectory, with 568 units sold during the month, reflecting a notable growth of 7.6 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.
In the period from January to November 2023, the economist indicated that there were 11,944 new vehicles sold, marking the most robust performance since the noteworthy figure of 12,224 recorded in 2017.
This success is particularly striking given the prevailing economic challenges, including high-interest rates and rising inflation.
In December, the Bank of Namibia maintained the interest rate at 7.75 percent, offering a brief respite for consumers amid ongoing economic pressures.
However, projections suggest that the high-interest rate environment will likely continue to impact household debt management into the latter half of the next year, despite the temporary stability.
During the current period, spanning from January to October, there has been a significant improvement in the acquisition of household instalment credit, exhibiting an average growth rate of 4.2 percent.
This figure marks a substantial increase compared to the same period in 2022 when the growth rate was a more subdued 0.9 percent. Simultaneously, there has been a noticeable rise in business or corporate credit.
The upward trend in corporate credit appears closely linked to the increase in commercial vehicle sales observed during the same period, suggesting a potential connection between the escalation in corporate credit activities and the heightened number of commercial vehicle purchases.
