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Thursday / 6 February 2025
HomeFeaturesHow many cars were exported and imported in South Africa – 2014 to 2021

How many cars were exported and imported in South Africa – 2014 to 2021

Between 2014 and 2021, 2,583,589 locally-manufactured vehicles across the passenger car and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments were exported out of South Africa.

At the same time, 2,331,681 vehicles were imported into South Africa. Of the imported vehicles, a total of 9,968 were re-exported during these seven years.

In 2022 and 2023, it is projected that a further 715,000 vehicles will be exported out of the country, while 579,000 vehicles are projected to be imported.

This is according to Naamsa’s fourth-quarter business review of the South African automotive market.

Passenger Vehicles

The number of passenger vehicles exported out of South Africa since 2014 steadily increased until the lockdown period in early 2020 – which saw both exports and imports take a sharp dive.

In 2014, 154,920 passenger cars were exported out of the country, while in 2019 this figure grew to 260,057 units.

At the end of 2020, however, exports stood at 178,299 units – reflecting a 31% decrease compared to the year before.

The situation with vehicle imports is slightly different, as the number of imported passenger cars steadily decreased between 2014 and 2021.

At the end of 2014, total passenger car imports stood at 317,516 units, which decreased to 267,557 in 2019.

In 2020, 187,115 cars were imported to the country – down 30% year-over-year.

Detailed below is the number of passenger vehicles that were exported, imported, and re-exported in South Africa between 2014 and 2021.

Year Exports Imports Re-exports
2014 154,920 317,516 1,680
2015 228,459 301,772 1,265
2016 237,715 263,354 832
2017 230,047 268,496 910
2018 220,889 266,545 792
2019 260,057 267,557 786
2020 178,299 187,115 489
2021 173,086 238,847 688
2022 195,000 (estimate) 260,000 (estimate) N/A
2023 215,000 (estimate) 270,000 (estimate) N/A

Light Commercial Vehicles

On the LCV side, which includes bakkies and minibus taxis, the picture is largely the same.

While this vehicle category showed slower growth between 2014 and 2021 than the passenger car segment, the biggest change came in 2020.

In 2014, total LCV exports stood at 118,585 units, whereas total LCV imports were 37,104 units.

After the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, total LCVs exported decreased from 125,079 units in 2019 to 91,725 models in 2020, a 27% drop.

Imports of LCVs also took a hit, decreasing from 24,226 vehicles imported in 2019 to 17,163 units in 2020, a 29% decrease.

Detailed below is the number of light commercial vehicles that were exported, imported, and re-exported in South Africa between 2014 and 2021.

Year Exports Imports Re-exports
2014 118,585 37,104 337
2015 102,664 34,279 337
2016 104,987 29,202 232
2017 105,862 27,165 286
2018 128,005 26,761 317
2019 125,079 24,226 343
2020 91,725 17,163 217
2021 123,210 24,579 457
2022 140,000 (estimate) 24,000 (estimate) N/A
2023 165,000 (estimate) 25,000 (estimate) N/A


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