News / 1 August 2022 / Albert du Toit

Best-selling car brands in South Africa

Toyota was the leading manufacturer in terms of vehicle sales in South Africa in July, with 7,110 units making their way into new owner’s hands.

This means Toyota was responsible for over 16% of the total of 43,593 new vehicles sold in the country last month.

Short on its heels is VW, which moved an almost equally impressive 6,204 cars.

However, VW is dominating the export market as it sent 11,526 locally-produced models to overseas markets in July, solidifying its spot as South Africa’s top automotive exporter. Mercedes-Benz is in second in the export category, shipping 8,147 vehicles out of the country during the same time.

This was revealed in Naamsa’s latest industry new vehicle sales report.

Big jump in exports

Vehicle sales in South Africa are continuing their gradual recovery following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Naamsa.

The 43,593 new cars sold in July 2022 reflect a 10,281-unit (30.9%) increase over the corresponding month in 2021.

Passenger cars accounted for 31,455 sales, a 50.2% jump over last year, whereas light commercial vehicles including bakkies and mini-buses moved 9,547 units, a decline of 6.9%.

Export sales also performed exceptionally well in July with 31,242 vehicles shipped overseas – a whopping 177.7% higher than during July 2021.

“On a year-to-date basis, vehicle exports moved into positive territory for the first time this year and were 2.9% ahead of the corresponding period 2021,” said Naamsa.

“Although further new locally manufactured model introductions are expected to boost vehicle exports for the balance of the year, global economic growth prospects have been revised downwards. A key driver in this decline is the much weaker growth prospects for Europe, which is the South African automotive industry’s largest export region.”

Detailed below are the best-selling car brands in South Africa for July 2022, according to Naamsa.

Click on the underlined names for more information.