South Africa’s 2025 new vehicle market recovered above 2019 pre-pandemic levels, hitting 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 over 2024. The performance was driven by interest rate cuts, low vehicle inflation, an influx of affordable imports and the liquidity injection from two-pot retirement system withdrawals, according to motor industry body Naamsa.
The highest growth was in passenger car sales, 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-sized 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, which 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%.
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“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 extension that might explicitly exclude South Africa are being monitored closely due to the industry’s significant export exposure.” Mabasa said the industry continued 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 the production of NEVs to ensure South Africa remains part of the global supply chain as major trading partners shift towards hybrid and electric vehicles.
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