SA vehicle sales rise 10.4% as market targets 600 000 milestone

South Africa’s new-vehicle sales rose 10.4% year on year to 61 890 units in October, keeping the market on course to surpass 600 000 sales this year.

Passenger-car demand and rental purchases supported activity despite rising fuel costs and mounting pressure on household budgets.

Naamsa, the Automotive Business Council, reported an increase of 5 839 units compared with October 2025. Ten-month sales reached 554 081, up 12.3% year on year. A further 45 919 vehicles would need to be sold in November and December to take the market to the 600 000 mark.

Read:
Why WeBuyCars has lost its shine
SA auto industry launches drive to replace 1.7m defective airbags

The National Automobile Dealers Association (Nada) reported that October sales increased by 234 vehicles, or 0.4%, from September’s revised figure of 61 656.

ADVERTISEMENT

CONTINUE READING BELOW

Passenger-car sales rose 13.6% year on year to 45 084 units, with rental companies accounting for 21.4% of the segment. Light commercial vehicle sales, including bakkies and minibuses, increased by 2.2% year on year to 13 689 units, although Nada’s month-on-month comparison showed a 4.6% decline.

Rental companies accounted for 16.5% of total domestic sales in October, compared with 13.8% in September, while dealership sales made up 78%, down from 81.4%.

Nada chair Brandon Cohen said rental purchases had played an important role in October’s sales performance as the year-end holiday travel period approached.

The figures come amid higher fuel costs.

Naamsa said inland 95-octane petrol reached R30.25 a litre from 7 October. Temporary fuel levy relief announced in the October Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement took effect on 4 November.

Cohen cautioned that stronger sales did not necessarily signal an easing of affordability pressures. “The deposit, repayment period, and any balloon payment all affect affordability,” he said.

Read:
Affordable Chinese brands help drive SA’s NEV transition
SA’s new vehicle sales hit 20-year high, but fuel price spike could dampen demand

ADVERTISEMENT:

CONTINUE READING BELOW

Vehicle exports also improved in October, rising 6.3% year on year to 38 117 units and 21.1% compared with September. However, cumulative exports for the first ten months of the year remained 8.3% below the corresponding period in 2025, according to Naamsa.

Cohen added that the market’s next phase of growth will depend on what consumers and businesses can afford.

“The progress made this year is welcome, but continued growth will depend on what households and businesses can comfortably commit to vehicle ownership,” he said.

The shift towards alternative powertrains is also gathering momentum. Naamsa reported that 22 389 new energy vehicles were sold in the first nine months of 2026, already 34% more than the total recorded for the whole of 2025.

* Phenyo Selinda is a Moneyweb Intern.

#vehicle #sales #rise #market #targets #milestone