The National credit act of South Africa and the motor finance sector

Abstract

In the midst of a global recession, this study explored whether the act of obtaining motor vehicle finance has become more onerous since the implementation of the National Credit Act, 2005, (NCA), and to determine which variables are contributing to the phenomenon of declining motor finance figures. A quantitative research methodology was applied whereby a portion of the analysis was based on historical motor finance application data attained from a medium sized motor finance institution. Another portion considered survey data obtained from 152 South African consumers and 42 Credit Analysts collected by way of self administered questionnaires. Various statistical tools, including Independent Sample t-Tests and Pearson product-moment correlation tests were applied to the data. The results of the study indicate that the act of obtaining motor finance has indeed become more complex since the inception of the NCA. Of the variables tested, motor vehicle retail prices and general living costs were identified as the main impediments limiting the amount of motor finance granted in the South African motor finance sector.