Was the upturn in the Moroccan car market only a brief interlude? This is at least what the sales statistics for November, published by the Association of Vehicle Importers in Morocco (AIVAM), suggest. Thus, after having chained three consecutive months of growth, sales of new cars resumed the downward path, contracting by 12.85% compared to the figures for November 2021, to a volume of 11,288 units sold. This decline logically worsens the balance sheet since the beginning of the year, which shows a cumulative decline of 7.4%, to 145,289 registrations. This destroys the hope of ending the 2022 financial year on a positive note…
A general decline
Representing 88% of the market volume, the category of passenger vehicles (PCs) suffered the blow with a drop of 12.8% compared to November 2021, to a volume of 9,905 units. And one month from the end of the year, its cumulative sales are down 6.25%, to 188,895 units. In addition to unfavorable economic conditions, many importers once again cite tightness in inventories as the main explanation for this poor performance.
The light commercial vehicle (LCV) market also suffered during the month of November, with registrations down 13.45% compared to the same month of 2021, at 1,383 units. Cumulative sales for the 2022 financial year therefore remain in the red, at a volume of 16,394 units, a decline of 15.4% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Renault, still in great shape
In this context of slump, few brands have managed to show a positive evolution. We will mainly mention Renault, whose sales (PC+LCV) for the month of November amounted to 1,703 units, up 23% compared to the same month of the previous year… but down 33% compared to compared to October 2022 figures. The other big winners for the month are Opel, with 439 units sold and an increase of 25% (compared to November 2021), Audi, with 333 units, up 86%, and Skoda and its 294 deliveries, up 43%. Notable fact: Asian brands, accustomed to positive scores since the beginning of the year, are all affected by supply difficulties and are seeing their sales drop. This is the case for Hyundai (886 units, -15%), Toyota (516 units, -37%) and Kia (272 units, -23%).
Ranking by brand: the status quo
In terms of ranking by brand over the whole year, it’s almost the status quo. Dacia remains well ahead, with 35,238 registrations, down 13.5%. However, this development needs to be qualified: once the figures of the Dokker, a model that has disappeared from its catalogue, are disregarded, the performance of the Romanian brand shows a spectacular increase of 21%. Renault takes second place with 23,152 units, an annual increase of 12.6%. The two Renault Group brands thus retain a combined market share of 40%.
The top 5 is completed by Hyundai (14,030 units, +9.5%), Peugeot (10,321 units, -7.3%) and Toyota, with 6,737 units sold, up 11.3% compared to the same period of 2021.