WINDHOEK, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Namibia witnessed sharp decline in vehicle sales in 2016, according to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) on Thursday.
Vehicle sales contracted by 19.1 percent m-o-m and by 31.7 percent y-o-y in December 2016. For the year 2016, vehicle sales declined by 21.8 percent to 16,598 units, according to NAAMSA.
The sharp decline in vehicle sales in 2016 was caused by a combination of factors, ranging from a slowdown in private sector credit extension and rising vehicle costs to the introduction of the carbon emission tax and an overall slowdown in the economy, NAAMSA said.
Meanwhile, Namibia Financial firm, Simonis Storm Securities (SSS) in their analysis said with oil prices expected to be between 50 U.S. dollars and 60 U.S. dollars in 2017, they expect overall vehicle sales to be under pressure.
The firm said Namibia's fuel hiking cycle is already up and running as the Ministry of Mines and Energy increased petrol and diesel prices by 20 and 30 cents per litre in January 2017.
Furthermore, Simonis Storm Securities also forecast that transport inflation is likely to affect the purchases of both new and second hand vehicles in the country going into 2017.
