Japanese Cars Dominate Botswana’s Roads in Q2 2023  

  • Toyota remains top choice at 31.3% of new registrations
  • Most new registrations were used vehicles at 76.4%
  • Volume of goods carried by rail up 7.2% but revenue down 13.1%
  • Aircraft movement up 60.1% of which 80.3% were domestic flights

GAZETTE REPORTER 

Motor vehicles originating from Japan continue to dominate Botswana’s first-time registrations, comprising 66.2 percent of the total.

This is revealed in the latest Statistics Botswana’s report on Transport and Infrastructure for Q2 2023.

The report reveals a surge in first-time registrations, with 9,174 vehicles registered, marking a significant 25.3 percent increase from the previous quarter.

Newly registered

Passenger cars take the lead, constituting 74.4 percent of the newly registered vehicles, followed by vans at 9.6 percent.

Of these, 76.4 percent were used, while brand new and rebuilt vehicles accounted for 23.4 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

In terms of brands, Toyota emerges as the top choice, making up 31.3 percent of the newly registered vehicles, closely followed by Mazda at 20.5 percent and Honda at 20.3 percent.

Gaborone 

The majority of registrations occurred in June, representing 38.7 percent, while May and April contributed 33.1 percent and 28.2 percent, respectively.

Geographically, Gaborone leads the pack with 83.7 percent of the total registrations, followed by Francistown at 11.2 percent and Lobatse at 6.8 percent.

Regarding transport, the report indicates a 7.2 percent increase in the volume of goods carried by rail, amounting to 273,537 net tons.

However, revenue generated from rail transportation witnessed a 13.1 percent decrease, totalling P49.2 million for Q2 2023.

Aircraft movement

May was the highest revenue-generating month, contributing 36.2 percent to the total, while April and June accounted for 33.7 percent and 30.1 percent, respectively.

In the aviation sector, Q2 2023 recorded a substantial 60.1 percent increase in aircraft movement, totalling 19,557.

Domestic aircraft movement constituted 80.3 percent, overshadowing international movements at 19.7 percent.