According to the release, the financial well-being of 65% of vehicle-buying consumers in South Africa has been negatively impacted by the nationwide lockdown. Some 30% are under pressure to replace their vehicle within the next four weeks. This leads back to increasing calls from business and certain motorists for the Level Four lockdown restrictions to include the operation of vehicle dealerships and workshops.<\/p>\n
CEO of AutoTrader, George Mienie mentioned that when consumers lose their jobs or receive salary cuts, they are demonstrating an urgent need to free up cash or reduce monthly household costs. \u201cSearches for second-hand vehicles under R50 000 have increased by almost 300% versus normal pre-lockdown levels,\u201d he reveals. \u201cClearly, South Africans are worried about how they will feed their families.\u201d<\/p>
With many other vehicle search platforms in South Africa, the statistics from AutoTrader are, of course, not all-encompassing, however, the website does register a massive number of visitors each month, making the statistics pulled from the platform relevant.<\/p>\n
The listing platform also provided what it, admittedly, terms \u2018anecdotal feedback\u2019 from dealers trading on AutoTrader. This feedback includes very specific examples of what people are trading down from. These include the trading down from a BMW X5 50D (R730 000) to a BMW 520d (R500 000). Another example included was a Mercedes-Benz ML63 (R670 000) being traded down to a Mercedes-Benz C180 (R300 000). From a light commercial perspective, there have been Ford Rangers (R335 000) traded in on a Nissan NP200 models (R160 000).<\/p>
The website has run a survey during the first week of May 2020 in order to establish specific lockdown buying patterns. \u201cWe have established that 30% of consumers indicate that they are under pressure to replace their vehicle within the next four weeks. This pipeline needs to be managed to avoid a further financial impact on both consumers and car dealers. The sooner consumers are allowed to trade with vehicle dealerships, the sooner their family\u2019s financial pressures may be eased,\u201d said Mienie.<\/p>\n
Mr Mienie added that it is in the best interests of the South African consumer that all vehicle dealerships be allowed to trade under Level 4 and that \u201cspecific directions\u201d be communicated by the government as a matter of urgency. He goes on to mention that other infrastructure should be opened too \u201cFor the proper functioning of the supply chain for vehicle sales, licence departments, testing stations and roadworthy centres should open alongside vehicle dealerships in order to facilitate the transfer of ownership from dealerships to the buyer during Level Four,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n