Lesotho car market in 2018 grew up 10.3% following the previous year’s positive trend while standing below the 1.000 units. With near 70% of market share, Toyota held the crown ahead of Isuzu, gaining 40.8% and the second place.
Lesotho is a small and mountainous country completely landlocked by South Africa, depending on a narrow economic base of textile manufacturing, agriculture, remittances, and regional customs revenue. About three-fourths of the people live in rural areas and engage in animal herding and subsistence agriculture, although Lesotho produces less than 20% of the nation’s demand for food. Agriculture is vulnerable to weather and climate variability. Lesotho relies on South Africa for much of its economic activity; Lesotho imports 90% of the goods it consumes from South Africa, including most agricultural inputs.
Lesotho cars market is largely based on used vehicles imported by South Africa with a very limited offer of new vehicles cars, addressed to the few private consumers able to sustain their cost and to public sector. In recent years new vehicles market was stable below the 1.000 units, with a peak of 935 reached in the 2015. In the 2018 sales have been 865, up 10.3% from the previous year.
| Sales 2012 | Sales 2013 | Sales 2014 | Sales 2015 | Sales 2016 | Sales 2017 | Sales 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car+LCV | 860 | 846 | 935 | 724 | 618 | 784 | 865 |
| 2012 var | 2013 var | 2014 var | 2015 var | 2016 var | 2017 Var | '+/- 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car+LCV | 3,6% | -1,6% | 10,5% | -22,6% | -14,6% | 26,9% | 10,3% |
Of course, the competitive landscape was dominated in 2018 by light vehicles, mainly pickups and the market leader was Toyota, with near 70% of market share. Toyota registrations in the 2018 have been 603 (+69.7%) almost 9 times more than the second, Isuzu.
