News / 1 October 2024 / Michael Taylor

Best-selling car brands in South Africa

Car sales took a hit in South Africa in September 2024, with numbers dropping by 4.1% compared to what they were a year prior.

Toyota is still on top with an impressive 10,890 units, showing a small improvement over the 10,656 it managed in August.

Likewise, it was a good month for VW, which went up from 5,645 to 5,885 purchases, widening its lead over Suzuki, which actually saw a decline from 5,131 to 5,032 customers.

Even so, the third-place holder is still well ahead of the next two entries, as Hyundai and Ford keep battling it out for fourth place.

The results flipped again this September with the Korean moving up to the preferred position thanks to 2,841 sales, slightly above the 2,823 units from the Blue Oval.

Moving beyond the top five, Isuzu achieved near-identical sales in August with 1,960 customers, leaving it comfortably in sixth place.

There were a few shakeups between sixth and tenth place, though, as GWM had a great performance that took it from ninth to seventh with 1,740 buyers.

Chery dropped down to eighth place with 1,614 units, and Renault jumped up a space to ninth with 1,426 sales.

Nissan, meanwhile, fell two slots and is now sitting in 10th with 1,425 units – only one less than Renault.

The industry as a whole recorded 44,081 new-vehicle sales in September 2024, a considerable 1,889 less than what it achieved in the same month in 2023.

Of this number, 79% were from dealership transactions, 15% from rental fleets, 3% from government sales, and 2% from corporate fleets.

Passenger cars accounted for 30,218 purchases, a year-on-year improvement of 2%, while light commercial vehicles ended with 10,914 units – a considerable decline of 17.1% over the past 12 months.

Another concern is exports, as only 21,964 cars were shipped overseas in September reflecting a decline of 13,535 units.

Naamsa The Automotive Business Council believes the poor export figures are partially due to a lack of interest in South Africa’s models, many of which are nearing the end of their current life cycles.

Key markets such as Europe are also tightening their environmental regulations, limiting the types of cars they are bringing in.

On a more positive note, the automotive sector expects that consumption will get better before the end of the year owing to lower fuel prices, interest rate cuts, and a stronger performance for the rand.