The SA Vehicle Industry Thread

SA’s 10 most popular Chinese cars in H1 2025

We’ve trawled through the sales statistics, done some maths and identified South Africa’s 10 most popular Chinese cars in the opening half of 2025…

Which Chinese cars are selling up a storm in South Africa? Well, we’ve crunched the numbers from the opening half of 2025 to identify the local market’s 10 best-selling passenger cars from Chinese brands.

Note that we’ve limited this exercise to the passenger-vehicle segment, meaning we’ve not included the likes of the GWM P-Series and Foton Tunland G7, which instead do duty in the light commercial vehicle (LCV space).

SA’s 10 most popular Chinese cars in H1 2025

Vehicle H1 2025 SALES Y-O-Y CHANGE
1 Chery Tiggo 4 Pro 7 297 units +19.6%
2 Haval Jolion 6 385 units +79.5%
3 Omoda C5 3 219 units no H1 2024 data
4 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro 2 484 units +13.2%
5 Jetour Dashing 1 901 units no H1 2024 data
6 Haval H6 1 881 units -15.2%
7 Jetour X70 Plus 1 405 units no H1 2024 data
8 Jaecoo J7 1079 units no H1 2024 data
9 Chery Tiggo 8 Pro 1 055 units +2.4%
10 BAIC Beijing X55 Plus 1 013 units no H1 2024 data

 
Raphael123 said:
Imagine how this list will change in a year when more smaller, cheaper vehicles hit our shores.
Click to expand...
Yip. Here in East London, the most prominent car showroom location in this town has been looking for a new tenant for over 2 years. Suddenly the site is a hive of activity with large renovations happening. Chery will be taking it over from their small, initial premises that they currently occupy.

The Chinese are here with their market share mouths wide open.....
 
How Trump’s 2025 Tariffs Are Affecting New Car Prices

The current US Administration’s decision to increase tariffs on imported vehicles and components has already raised car prices, with speculation of more to come. What purpose do these duties and tariffs serve and what’s their impact on vehicle pricing?

Since 2 April 2025, so-called Liberation Day, when the US Administration announced substantial increases in the tariffs on goods imported from other countries, there has been ongoing debate around how much the domestic goods prices will increase, how US consumers will react, and the impact on foreign suppliers if US demand for their products is reduced. Irrespective of where these new tariffs finally settle, the situation has drawn attention to the whole question of duties and tariffs, their purpose, whether they achieve what was intended, and their impact on inflation and the consumer.

Auto Industry Duties and Tariffs

As a producer of high value products, the international auto industry is accustomed to operating in an environment of complex duty structures and regulation. In developing markets, where the establishment of domestic vehicle manufacturing is seen as key to economic growth through mobilisation, job creation and skills development. Here, import duties are often used in combination with other forms of local production incentives. These can include incentives to build factories in areas of low employment, production incentives to encourage exports, and local content incentives to encourage the development of the local supplier base, increasing investment and jobs.

Applicable incentives and duties are among the key factors in the determination of vehicle production locations, the export markets each will serve, and the sourcing of components, typically being decided as long as 24-30 months before the start of production. Considering the high investment costs, long lead times, and complex international supply chains, it’s important that duty structures are stable and that any changes follow consultation, while allowing adequate lead times to implementation.

www.carmag.co.za

How Trump’s 2025 Tariffs Are Affecting New Car Prices

Trump's decision to increase tariffs on imported vehicles and components has already raised car prices, with speculation of more to come...
www.carmag.co.za www.carmag.co.za
 
SA’s best-selling double-cab bakkies halfway through 2025

Which bakkies are dominating South Africa’s double-cab sales charts at 2025’s halfway point? And what about the single- and extended-cab segments? We have the figures!
Since we’ve already identified South Africa’s best-selling bakkies for the opening half of 2025, it’s now time to drill down to sales by body style. That, of course, will allow us to see which bakkies are dominating the double-cab, extended-cab and single-cab sales charts at the year’s halfway point.

As a reminder, Naamsa’s monthly sales report unfortunately doesn’t include a breakdown of the 3 bakkie body styles available in Mzansi. However, our friends over at Lightstone Auto have again assisted us by providing these fascinating registration figures for H1 2025.

For the record, year to date at the end of June 2025, the Toyota Hilux (16 526 units) is at the top of the overall bakkie sales table in South Africa. The Ford Ranger (12 398 units) and Isuzu D-Max (9 846 units) are in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

SA’s best-selling double-cab bakkies in H1 2025

According to Lightstone Auto, the Ford Ranger leads SA’s double-cab bakkie sales charge after the first 6 months of 2025, with 10 262 units sold locally (1 884 of which were registered in June). Our calculations suggest that translates to a considerable 82.8% of the Silverton-built contender’s overall figure.

With 1 389 units sold in June 2025, the Toyota Hilux has a year-to-date double-cab tally of 7 717 units. That sees the Prospecton-made model place 2nd (some 2 545 units behind the dual-cab Ranger) at the year’s halfway mark. Fascinatingly, the double-cab body style therefore accounts for 46.7% of the Hilux’s overall figure for H1 2025.

 
South Africa positions itself as a global hub for new energy vehicles, says Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says that with the electric vehicle white paper and the incentive programme, the country has committed to a stable, predictable and supportive framework for companies to be able to invest and grow in South Africa.

Speaking at the BMW plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria, with the theme “A strategic vision for South Africa’s automotive future”, he was quick to praise the company for the work they have been doing.

BMW South Africa manufactures the X3 range of SUVs, exporting them to more than 24 different countries around the world.

More importantly, they are the sole manufacturer for the BMW X3 plug-in hybrid.

Transformation

“We are on an exciting journey of transformation, change, and development in numerous ways, and your efforts have been pivotal in driving this transformation forward.

“The automotive sector serves as the cornerstone of our industrial strategy, accounting for 4.9% of our GDP and directly supporting over 115 000 manufacturing jobs. Its impact extends far beyond these figures, affecting the livelihoods of more than half a million individuals throughout the value chain,” he said.

“South Africa stands as the 22nd largest vehicle exporter in the world, with key markets including the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. Moreover, the African continent, particularly within the SADC region, is emerging as an increasingly important export market.

“We have successfully positioned ourselves as a globally competitive hub for automotive manufacturing, and the BMW Group has played an essential role in this significant journey.”

Referring to New Energy Vehicles, Ramaphosa said: “The transition to green mobility and the electrification of vehicle production aligns with our global commitment to reducing emissions and supporting the shift towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy, and we are proud to be part of this important movement.

 
South Africa's 20 best-selling SUVs in the first half of 2025: Chinese and Indian models gain ground

More than half of all passenger vehicles sold in South Africa are SUVs or crossovers, and their popularity continues to grow as buyers gradually part with their trusty hatchbacks and sedans.

In 2024, SUVs accounted for almost 52% of the passenger vehicle market, up from 45.2% in 2021, the year in which these high-riders overtook hatchbacks as the most popular body type.

But what are the most popular SUV models in South Africa?

We strung together the Naamsa numbers from the first half of 2025, and some interesting trends became apparent - with Chinese and Indian-built models dominating the scene.

Of the 20 top-selling SUVs in South Africa, six are the products of Chinese brands and nine are imported from India, under the Toyota, Suzuki, Kia, Hyundai, and Mahindra brands.

However, the Prospecton-built Toyota Corolla Cross emerged as South Africa’s most popular SUV product by a healthy margin, with a monthly average of 1,596 units in the first half of 2025. The Cross received a facelift in early 2025, and its popularity continues to grow, with an impressive volume of 2,132 units recorded in June. It is one of just two locally produced SUVs in the top 20, the other being its Fortuner sibling.


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Top 10 Best-Selling Car Brands in South Africa in July 2025

We’ve rounded up the top 10 best-selling car brands in South Africa in July 2025. See the list below.

In June 2025, naamsa, the Automotive business council of South Africa, reported that aggregate new-vehicle sales climbed to 47 294 units, an increase of 18.7% (or 7 444 units), over the same month in 2024. And in July 2025, the momentum gained from the latter month (and May 2025, for that matter) continued to show an increase.

According to naamsa, July 2025 delivered the highest monthly sales since October 2019. Aggregate new vehicle sales in the seventh month of 2025 increased to 51 383 units (up 6 931 units) over July 2024.

Toyota continued to top the sales charts, with the Japanese automaker’s South African arm registering 12 694 new cars sold in July 2025 – an increase of 1 004 over the firm’s June 2025 overall sales figure (11 690). Suzuki retained second place; registering 6 257 units sold in the seventh month of this year. Compared to the firm’s June 2025 figure, which saw a decline of 315 units from May 2025, Suzuki sold 1 036 more vehicles in July 2025. In third place, Volkswagen recorded a 765-unit increase in sales (over June 2025) for an overall figure of 5 738 units sold.

South Africa’s Top 10 Best-Selling Car Brands in July 2025

Toyota – 12 694 units (up 1 004)
Suzuki – 6 257 units (up 1 036)
Volkswagen – 5 738 units (up 765)
Hyundai – 3 161 units (up 256)
Ford – 2 877 units (down 181)
GWM – 2 436 units (up 148)
Isuzu – 2 427 units (up 340)
Chery – 2 160 units (up 59)
Kia – 1 891 units (up 661)
Mahindra – 1 441 units (down 42)

www.carmag.co.za

Top 10 Best-Selling Car Brands in South Africa in July 2025

We’ve rounded up the top 10 best-selling car brands in South Africa in July 2025. See the list and breakdown below...
www.carmag.co.za www.carmag.co.za
 
SA’s new-vehicle sales surge to near-6-year high in July 2025

July 2025 represented the SA new-vehicle market’s highest monthly total in nearly 6 years. Here’s your industry overview, including Mzansi’s 10 best-selling automakers…

In July 2025, South Africa’s new-vehicle market grew 15.6% year on year – the local industry’s 10th consecutive month of year-on-year growth – to end on a whopping 51 383 units. For the record, that represents not only an 8.6% increase over June 2025’s effort but also the market’s highest monthly sales total since October 2019 (nearly 6 years ago).

“We are encouraged by the sustained positive momentum in new-vehicle sales, which clearly underscores the resilience of South African consumers and the strategic importance of a stable macro-economic policy environment. This performance reflects more than short-term consumption – it signals the sector’s confidence in the country’s broader economic trajectory,” said Naamsa CEO, Mikel Mabasa.

The industry-representative body further said vehicle exports “displayed notable resilience” in July, decreasing 1.9% year on year to 35 379 units “despite the effects” of the 25% automotive tariffs imposed by the United States in April 2025. Year to date, exports remain 2.5% ahead of the same 7-month reporting period in 2024.

According to Naamsa, 83.1% of July 2025’s total reported domestic figure of 51 383 units represented dealer sales, while an estimated 11.1% were sales to the new-vehicle rental industry, 3.1% to government and 2.7% to industry corporate fleets.

New-vehicle sales summary for July 2025

- Aggregate new-vehicle sales of 51 383 units increased by 15.6% (6 931 units) compared to July 2024.
- New passenger-vehicle sales of 36 248 units increased by 20.1% (6 072 units) compared to July 2024.
- New light-commercial vehicle sales of 12 356 units increased by 6.9% (800 units) compared to July 2024.
- Export sales of 35 379 units decreased by 1.9% (677 units) compared to July 2024.

10 best-selling automakers in South Africa in July 2025

1. Toyota – 12 694 units

2. Suzuki – 6 257 units

3. Volkswagen Group – 5 738 units

4. Hyundai – 3 161 units

5. Ford – 2 877 units

6. GWM – 2 436 units

7. Isuzu – 2 427 units

8. Chery – 2 160 units

9. Kia – 1 891 units

10. Mahindra – 1 441 units

 
FlashSA said:
Debt bubble loading!

How can new car sales be going in the completely opposite direction to increased business liquidations, higher unemployment and increased cost of living expenses? The math isn't mathing for me....
Click to expand...

  • Rising defaults on vehicle loans are already becoming visible.
  • Consumers may be overextended, and the auto bubble could burst if interest rates or fuel prices spike again.
 
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