• First half of 2010 ends with vehicle market up by 23,9%.• June sales shrug off World Cup distraction with high daily dealer sales levels.• Vehicle exports continue to rise as global economy improves.• GMSA retains ranking as third largest vehicle manufacturer in South Africa and second largest seller of light commercial vehicles. High level of customer interest in June A high level of customer interest continues to support new vehicle sales through June despite South Africa’s focus of attention being the Soccer World Cup for the latter part of the month. NAAMSA vehicle sales statistics reflect total sales of 39 931 vehicles for June (including non-detailed reporting by AMH and AAD), 20,7% up on sales in June 2009 and just short of 2% up on sales last month. “June presented itself as an unknown quantity for South Africa as we all held our breath in anticipation of the World Cup and the impact it would have,”” says Malcolm Gauld, GMSA’s Vice President: Sales and Marketing. “With the focus on soccer there was every possibility that key purchasing decisions, amongst them those of motor vehicles, could be deferred or negatively impacted by shortened working hours in the early phase of the event. As the month unfolded we found that dealer daily sales volumes, perhaps the most effective measure of industry activity, were higher than anticipated,” Continued Gauld. “Somewhat surprisingly the vehicle market enjoyed a high level of activity in June despite having to compete with the World Cup for attention. It did this without any notable support from the rental vehicle industry – the process of fleeting up for the influx of tourists was completed during May – and displayed an encouraging level of resilience for a strong end to the first half of 2010. At this time the total market is up 23,9% on 2009 with average monthly sales of 39 283 units.Economic confidence levels Pointers to the overall state of confidence in the economy can be drawn from activity in the commercial vehicle sectors and here the positives for June are improved sales of Medium and Heavy Commercial vehicles when compared to June 2009. The continued strength of the Rand and healthy balance of payment figures released this week are further positives. Other key variables of importance to the industry are Credit Demand growth in the private sector, and the Debt to Disposable Income ratio - both of which are both improving, but slower than anticipated. Obviously South Africa cannot be isolated from the global economy. Concerns aside about the state of a couple of Euro Zone members, the global economy seems on track with its recovery process. This is evidenced by the resurgence of vehicle exports from South Africa in recent months. Total exports of 106 766 vehicles are up 32,7% on the first 6 months of last year to provide welcome support for the local vehicle and component manufacturing industry. There is little doubt that new model interest is playing a significant role in creating showroom traffic. The coming months will see some exciting activity on this front from GMSA with the roll-out of a number of new and revised products. The first of these - the all-new Chevrolet Spark - is due at our dealers in the coming weeks. “GMSA retains its position as the third largest vehicle manufacturer in South Africa and the second largest seller of light commercial vehicles in the country. The Corsa Utility, now proudly a member of the Chevrolet family, continues to dominate in the sub-one ton market with 1 223 sales for the month – the Corsa Ute has led this segment for 63 straight months – while the Isuzu KB ranked second in 1-ton pick-up sales for the month.