Best-selling car brands in South Africa

South Africa’s new-vehicle industry continued its strong year of growth through November with a total of 49,413 vehicles being sold.

This reflects a year-on-year rise of 7,618 units, or 18.2%, as well as a 3,447-unit (7.5%) improvement over the preceding month.

The passenger-car segment, in particular, experienced 16.9% more movement in November in relation to the same month in 2021, whereas the light-commercial category, which includes bakkies and mini-buses, saw 20.8% more vehicles being sold.

Similarly, sales of medium and heavy trucks registered at 900 and 2,177 units, respectively, showing an increase of 17.5% and 22.6%.

Out of the total reported sales of new autos in November, an estimated 81.0% represented dealer sales, 14.7% represented sales to the vehicle rental industry, 2.3% represented sales to the government, and 2.0% represented sales to industry corporate fleets, according to Naamsa.

On the other side of the spectrum, vehicle exports also performed excellently.

During November, a total of 34,310 cars were shipped to global markets, a massive 64.7% higher than the 20,831 models from the same month in 2021.

For the year-to-date, vehicle exports are now 17.9% ahead of the corresponding period in 2021 – at 326,516 units.

“Vehicle exports performed strongly compared to the corresponding month [in] 2022 which was affected by the impact of a severe Covid-19 fourth wave in parts of Europe, the industry’s top export region,” said Naamsa.

“Given persistently high inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes in many advanced and developing countries at present, the risks to export sales reside on the downside.”

It’s not all bad, though, as a raft of new-vehicle introductions scheduled for 2023 keeps growth prospects for the local export industry optimistic, said the organisation.