Local vehicle sales rose 34% in three years

The naamsa data compares new vehicle sales for September 2023 with September 2026. It separates local sales, meaning vehicles sold in South Africa, from exports, meaning vehicles shipped abroad. The two moved in opposite directions.

Local sales reached 61,645 units in September 2026, up from 46,021 in September 2023. That is a rise of about 34%. Local sales in September 2025 were 54,706 units, so the market also grew over the last year, by about 13%.

Exports went the other way. They fell from 36,247 units in September 2023 to 31,473 units in September 2026, a drop of about 13%. South African buyers took more vehicles, while foreign buyers took fewer.

Passenger cars explain most of the local growth. Local passenger sales rose from 29,669 units in September 2023 to 44,291 units in September 2026. That is a rise of about 49%.

Light commercial vehicles, such as bakkies and vans, grew more slowly. Local sales rose from 13,169 units to 14,361 units over the same period, about 9%. Passenger cars therefore widened their lead over every other segment.

Heavy segments were mixed. Local sales of extra heavy commercial vehicles slipped from 1,779 units to 1,448 units. Heavy commercial sales rose from 491 units to 686 units. Bus sales were small and uneven, at 70 units in September 2026.

The biggest shift is in who sells the cars. Chinese brands sold 12,266 units locally in September 2026, against 3,388 units in September 2023. That is about 3.6 times as many.

Their share of local sales rose from 7.4% to 19.9%, a gain of 12.5 percentage points. Several names that sold nothing in September 2023 now appear in the table. BYD sold 659 units, Omoda and Jaecoo sold 1,503 units, and Jetour sold 2,036 units.

Established Chinese names also grew. Chery rose from 1,240 units to 3,004 units, and GWM (Haval) rose from 1,532 units to 2,700 units. Chinese brands also sold 535 FAW trucks locally in September 2026.

Japanese brands still lead, but their share of local sales fell from 48.8% to 43.6%. European brands fell further, from 26.2% to 19.1%. Korean brands slipped from 9.5% to 7.9%, and American brands from 6.1% to 5.2%.

Not every share loss meant fewer sales. Toyota sold 15,366 units locally in September 2026, up about 21% from 12,704 units in September 2023. Suzuki Auto rose about 49%, from 4,478 units to 6,668 units. The market grew faster than these brands did.

Nissan is the clear exception. Its local sales fell from 2,130 units to 801 units, a drop of about 62%. European sales as a group stayed nearly flat in units, at 11,783 units against 12,039 units, so they lost share only because the market grew.

Exports are dominated by a few makers. European brands took 65.1% of exports in September 2026, almost the same as the 65% in September 2023. Volkswagen Group SA exported 10,112 units, down from 11,402 units.

Some of the falls were sharp. Toyota exports dropped about 39%, from 6,025 units to 3,652 units. Mercedes-Benz SA exports fell about 29%, from 5,905 units to 4,200 units. Nissan exports fell from 452 units to 67 units.

Ford went against the trend, with exports up from 5,536 units to 6,161 units. American brands raised their share of exports from 15.3% to 19.6%. By segment, light commercial exports fell about 17%, from 12,244 units to 10,178 units.

Chinese brands barely exported in September 2023, at 112 units. By September 2026 they exported 505 units, which is 1.6% of all exports. FAW Trucks sent out 248 units and Shacman sent out 110 units.

Extra heavy commercial exports also grew, from 29 units to 337 units, about 12 times as many. These numbers are small next to passenger and light commercial exports, so they do not offset the overall fall.

The year to September 2026 supports the September picture. Local sales from January to September reached 492,201 units, against 437,377 units in the same months of 2025. That is a rise of about 13%.

Passenger cars made up 350,069 of those units, about 71% of the total. Light commercial sales were 116,993 units, up from 106,203 units in the first nine months of 2025. Heavy trucks and buses sold 18,771 units.

Full-year figures show how recent the surge is. Passenger sales were 351,553 units in 2024 and 422,459 units in 2025, a rise of about 20%.