Features / 24 August 2026 / Warren Hawkins

The car brands keeping South Africa’s automotive sector alive

South Africa’s automotive manufacturing sector is struggling, recording year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter decreases, but remains alive thanks to five major carmakers.

According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), motor vehicle and transport equipment manufacturing fell 5.3% between June 2025 and June 2026, and 3.1% since the start of the year.

Alongside local vehicle manufacturing declining this year, exports are also significantly lower than they were a year ago.

This is according to data from the Automotive Business Council (Naamsa), which recorded an 8.3% year-to-date decline in automotive industry exports.

As of July 2026, local manufacturers recorded a deficit of 19,359 fewer vehicles shipped abroad compared to the first seven months of 2025.

Despite a positive start in January, the export pipeline experienced a severe setback in February and has remained in negative territory for the rest of the year.

As for the country’s biggest exporters – VW, Toyota, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW – 2026 has been a stellar year for exports.

The undisputed king of the sector, VW, has exported more than 70,000 vehicles so far this year and represents over 30% of the industry.

The Polo builder has also recorded a significant increase in exports, starting the year by shipping 7,941 units overseas, which rose to 12,280 units last month.

Similarly, BMW grew its X3 exports from 5,000 in January to 7,000 in July, followed by fellow German Mercedes-Benz, which increased C-Class exports from 3,800 units in January to 4,400 units last month.

Toyota recorded two major dips in monthly sales so far in 2026, but managed to recover both times, yet ended up exporting fewer models in July than in January.

Its close rival in both local sales and exports, Ford, managed to increase monthly exports from 928 units in January to 2,904 units in July.

Combined, these five brands have exported 203,179 passenger vehicles and bakkies so far this year, representing 95.30% of the 213,195 total passenger vehicle exports.

Every vehicle built in South Africa’s car factories

South African car manufacturing plants are home to some of the most popular cars not only in our own market, but also the rest of the world.

Below is a list of every vehicle built in South Africa right now, with some expected to join the market as soon as Chery starts manufacturing at its recently acquired plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria.

Click on their underlined prices to learn more about each model.