Indebted motorists were faced with a 0.5% increase in interest rates in March, increasing their instalments on those finance contracts linked to prime. The increase was the second this year, raising interest rates to their highest level since 2009 and placing continued pressure on household budgets and vehicle affordability.
Although fewer than a year ago, the vast majority of WesBank vehicle finance contracts are linked to the prime rate. “In addition to making existing linked finance agreements more expensive, the higher-than-expected interest rate hike will no doubt challenge affordability and future purchase decisions for the new vehicle market, which could begin impacting sales volumes over the coming months,” says Lebogang Gaoaketse, Head of Marketing and Communications at WesBank.
March sales a year ago were a record-breaking month when the market broke through the 50,000-unit barrier, providing lots for the industry to celebrate at the time. A year later, the market…
