Sales of extra heavy (XHCV) trucks have led the field for the first six months of the year, according to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa). Commercial vehicle sales to June of this year were 9.3% up on the same period in 2009. Sales in the XHCV segment rose by 19.5%, and bus sales improved by just less than 79% as purchases for the World Cup kicked in, according to Casper Kruger, vice president of Hino in SA. “The substantially improved XHCV performance is particularly significant, and reflects a more supportive financing environment for these vehicles, often costing more than R1 million each, than the credit restrictions that severely limited their sales potential in 2009,” he says. Kruger says all eyes are now on the post World Cup July sales.
