Economy & Business - 19 June 2024
19 Jun 2024
Financially strained South Africans are increasingly looking away from premium cars from brands such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. This is because South Africans are choosing to avoid luxury cars and instead buy the new wave of Chinese vehicles entering the market. Various industry stakeholders and banks have noted that this decline is due to economic challenges, high interest rates, and escalating fuel costs. National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has noted a trend of consumers downsizing and turning to the growing number of Asian participants—particularly Chinese brands—which are making a significant impact in the market. The buying-down trend can be seen in the strong growth of sales from cheaper brands such as Suzuki and popular Chinese brands, including BAIC, Beijing, Chery, GWM, Haval, Jaecoo, and Omoda. This shift has hit premium manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo. (Source)
King Price Insurance compiling reported incidents of hijackings from January 2021 to April 2023, put together a list of 10 car brands and models that were the least hijacked cars within their footprint. These cars, as outlined by King Price and in no particular order: Audi Q3, Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, Ford Fiesta, Ford Figo, Hyundai Creta, Nissan Almera, Nissan Magnite, Subaru Forester, Suzuki Vitara, Renault Clio. (Source)