As 2025 draws to a close, South Africa’s (SA) motor industry has once again shown that forecasting vehicle sales is becoming more art than science.
“There are very few industry commentators who could have predicted the sales boom we’ve seen in the second half of the year,” said Brandon Cohen, Chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers Association, commenting on November’s retail figures.
Aggregate industry sales reached 54 896 units last month, up 12.5% compared with November 2024. Year-to-date sales of 547 966 units are already 15.4% higher than the total recorded in the first 11 months of last year.
Of the November total, 43,702 vehicles (79.6% of the market) were sold through dealer retail channels. The remaining units went to the rental industry (16.3%), government (2.4%), and corporate fleets (1.7%).
Passenger cars recorded an 11% year-on-year increase, while the light commercial vehicle segment performed even more strongly, rising 20.5% compared with November 2024. However, sales of medium and heavy trucks remain weak, with medium trucks down 0.4% and heavy trucks falling 1.3%.
“The aggressive marketing of a wide range of affordable models from China and India is driving retail growth,” Cohen said. “The rental sector is also a significant contributor, accounting for 16.3% of overall sales and 21.2% of new passenger car sales, as operators expand fleets ahead of the festive season in anticipation of incoming international tourists.”
He added that consumer confidence has been supported by the successful staging of the G20 Conference, lower fuel prices, and positive signals from the fiscus regarding SA’s improving creditworthiness, tighter monetary controls, and further interest rate reductions. This has led to noticeable improvements in finance approvals as affordability strengthens.
“The buoyant economic environment, combined with year-end incentives, should deliver another strong month of sales in December and one of the highest annual totals of the past decade,” Cohen concluded.
–ChannelAfrica–
