Despite certain macroeconomic headwinds, South Africa's domestic new vehicle market has continued to demonstrate notable resilience during the month of September, defying expectations amid higher borrowing costs, persistent inflationary pressures, and subdued economic growth.
South Africa's new vehicle market recorded aggregate domestic sales of 61,645 units in September 2026, representing a 12,7% increase compared to the 54,706 units sold during September 2025. Export sales amounted to 31,473 units during the month, reflecting an 18,8% decrease compared to the corresponding month last year.
Of the total reported industry sales of 61,645 vehicles, an estimated 50,171, or 81,4% represented dealer sales, 13,8% sales to the vehicle rental industry, 2,6% government purchases, and 2,2% corporate fleet sales.
The September 2026 new passenger car market registered 44,291 units, reflecting an increase of 14,7% compared to the 38,615 units sold in September 2025. The car rental industry accounted for a sound 18,4% of new passenger vehicle sales during the month.
Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses amounted to 14,361 units, representing a 9,6% increase compared to the 13,099 units sold in September 2025.
Medium commercial vehicle sales reached 789 units during September 2026, a gain of 3,4% compared to the 763 units sold in September 2025 while heavy truck and bus sales totalled 2,204 units, a decrease of 25 units compared to the 2,229 units sold in September 2025.
NEW ENERGY VEHICLES (NEVs): ACCELERATING ADOPTION AND SEGMENT DIVERSIFICATION
South Africa’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market continued to demonstrate robust growth and a notable acceleration in consumer adoption. During the first eight months of 2026, cumulative NEV sales reached 18,945 units, already surpassing the 16,703 units recorded during the entire 2025 calendar year by 13.4%, with four months of the year still remaining.
The best selling vehicle brands in the month of September
1. Toyota – 15 366 units
2. Suzuki – 6 668 units
3. Volkswagen Group – 5 968 units
4. Ford – 3 190 units
5. Hyundai – 3 057 units
6. Isuzu – 3 022 units
7. Chery – 3 004 units
8. GWM – 2 700 units
9. Jetour – 2 036 units
10. Kia – 1 840 units
Jetour (2,036 units) and Kia (1,840 units) were the last ones out of the door at the top 10. Renault (1,711 units) again ranked 11th, while Omoda & Jaecoo (1,503 units) climbed a spot to 12th. Mahindra (1,398 units), BMW Group (1,396 units, including the Mini brand), and Tata Motors PV SA (883 units) closed out the top 15, as they did in August.