Ghana is jointly ranked 13th with Coted’lvoire, out of 19 countries in Fitch Solutions sub-Saharan Africa's Auto Sales Risk/Reward Index.

The country score of about 6% indicates that the vehicle sales market is very low.

This is because majority of markets in sub-Saharan Africa are characterised by low incomes and high borrowing costs which impedes the development of new vehicle sales market. 

The lower score also indicates that vehicle ownership levels is not encouraging, despite inadequate road infrastructure in the country. In addition, liberal regulations with regards to the importation of used vehicles adds more pressure to the development of a new vehicle sales market.

“In West Africa, we forecast that total vehicle sales will average 8.2% over 2021 and 6.6% in 2022. Starting with Nigeria, we expect the country is set to experience the strongest vehicle sales growth levels in the region over 2021 with a forecasted growth rate of 15.0%. This is because we believe that rising oil prices and stronger economic output will result in consumer and business sentiment improving and thus igniting vehicle purchases. However, a depreciating local currency will weigh on overall purchasing power over 2021”, the report said.

“We also hold an upbeat outlook for Ghana's vehicles sales over 2021 as sales in 2020 suffered following the Covid-19 outbreak, which severely impacted the ability of individuals, businesses and governments to carry out vehicle purchases due to a reprioritisation of spending into essential goods and services”, it added.

The indicator measured markets’ vehicle penetration rates per 1,000 inhabitants to gauge the level of vehicle ownership, with a higher score denoting higher vehicle ownership levels. A low score indicated lower vehicle ownership levels.

Accordingly, only three countries - Mauritius, Gabon and Botswana - manage to achieve scores higher than the global average of 50% out of the 19 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region covered.

Meanwhile, the growth of the ride-hailing industry offers automakers and car dealers an opportunity to develop a new vehicle sales market in the continent including Ghana.

Country	Rankings
Mauritius	1st
Gabon	2nd
Botswana	3rd
South Africa	4th
Namibia	5th
Zimbabwe	6th
Zambia	6th
Sudan	8th
Nigeria	8th
Tanzania	10th
Kenya	10th
Mozambique	12th
Ghana	13th
Coted’lvoire	13th