SA’s new car market hits decade high as sales surge past pre-Covid levels – Daily Dispatch
Group motoring editor
South Africa’s 2025 new vehicle market recovered above 2019 pre-pandemic levels and hit the highest levels in a decade.
A total of 596,818 new cars, light commercials and trucks were sold in 2025, a 15.7% increase on 2024.
The performance was driven by interest-rate cuts, low vehicle inflation, an influx of affordable model imports and the liquidity injection from the two-pot retirement system withdrawals, according to motor industry body Naamsa.
The highest growth was in passenger cars, which rose 20.1% to 422,292 units for the year, with light commercials (including bakkies and minibuses) growing 7.8% to 143,637 units. Trucks delivered a mixed performance, with medium trucks rising 5.6% to 8,151 units while heavy trucks and buses declined 3% to 22,738 units.
The double-digit growth was underpinned by an influx of affordable vehicle imports, particularly from China and India, challenged domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) but satisfied consumer demand, said Naamsa.
Improved liquidity and lower interest rates led to a revival in credit extension for vehicle financing. There was also a significant easing of vehicle inflation, which hit a record low of 1.5% — the lowest since tracking began in 2008, said Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa.
Naamsa predicts local new vehicle sales will grow 10% in 2026, driven by interest rate relief and lower inflation expected to average 3.3%.
Vehicle exports in 2025 reached 408,224 units, a gain of 4.4% compared to 2024, breaching the 400,000-unit mark for the first time, but tensions between South Africa and the US administration remain a source of potential volatility.
“The export landscape remains complex. While South Africa is a regional leader, global geopolitical tensions and trade barriers are assessed as tilted to the downside,” said Mabasa.
“The exclusion of South Africa from the 2026 G20 gathering and legislative moves proposing a two-year African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa) extension that might explicitly exclude South Africa are being monitored closely due to the industry’s significant export exposure.”
Mabasa said the industry continues to monitor the European market, where a softening of the 2035 deadline to a 90% CO₂ cut (rather than 100%) provides a marginal reprieve for OEMs navigating the new-energy vehicle (NEV) transition.
In December, the European Commission published plans to abandon an effective 2035 ban on combustion engine cars, but Naamsa said this regulatory reprieve should not be misconstrued as an opportunity for policy inertia or a relaxation of the requisite strategic pivot. Local OEMs need to pivot to production of NEVs to ensure SA remains part of the global supply chain as major trading partners shift towards hybrid and electric vehicles.
South Africa predominantly builds internal combustion engined (ICE) cars, and companies want the government to support their shift to NEV production. Government incentives and policy interventions will encourage local OEMs to invest more in the production of NEVs and help ensure the survival of South Africa’s seven car manufacturers, who export two-thirds of their production into a global market that is moving towards an electric future.
Europe’s decision allows carmakers more time to sell hybrids, but for the longer term, fully electric vehicles are still the future, analysts and experts predict.
“The transition to clean mobility remains an existential priority, necessitating a sustained and accelerated policy review to safeguard South Africa’s export competitiveness,” said Mabasa.
OEMs have also asked for increased import duties to help shield them from cut-priced imports from China and India, which have eaten into their market share.
The market had a strong conclusion to the year in December, with sales reaching 48,983 units, an increase of 7,882 vehicles over December 2024.
Toyota held onto its dominant market share lead in December with 12,933 new vehicle sales in South Africa, followed by Volkswagen (5,014), Suzuki Auto (4,961), Hyundai (3,068) and Ford (2,987). GWM (2,453) and Chery (2,249) were sixth and seventh, respectively, reflecting the continued growth of budget-priced Chinese brands in the local market. Other Chinese marques in the top 15 December sellers were Jetour, Omoda and Jaecoo.
Business Day
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