New vehicle sales continued firing on all cylinders in August, sustaining the strong growth seen in recent months with an increase to 57,898 units ― an 11.4% improvement compared with August 2025.
The macroeconomic environment provided a more supportive backdrop for new-vehicle demand, though the benefits were unevenly distributed between private motorists and commercial operators, said automotive industry body Naamsa.
However, vehicle exports declined by 11.9% last month to 35,091 units compared with August 2025, which Naamsa said reinforced the need to strengthen industrial competitiveness and translate improving domestic demand into local production, localisation, investment and employment.
In domestic sales, new passenger cars were the best-performing segment, achieving 41,216 sales last month, an 11.6% increase over August 2025. Sales of new light commercial vehicles (bakkies and minibuses) rose 11% to 13,727 units; medium commercials at 805 units were 16.3% up, while heavy trucks and buses at 2,150 units increased 10.1%.
Vehicle purchases remain particularly sensitive to financing costs, household disposable income and total cost of ownership, Naamsa said.
“Headline consumer inflation moderated to 4.3% in July 2026 from 5.0% in June, supported by lower transport inflation and slower food price increases. Together with the Reserve Bank’s decision to maintain the repo rate at 7%, with the prime lending rate at 10.50%, this provided greater stability in the affordability environment facing households and prospective vehicle buyers,” it said.
“The combination of moderating inflation and stable interest rates therefore provided some relief to consumers navigating still-elevated living and borrowing costs.
“For private motorists, subsequent fuel price reductions provided some offset: petrol declined by 52c/l from August 5 after reductions of R1.96-R2.01/l in July. These adjustments provided some relief to household mobility costs and complemented the relative stability in financing conditions.
“Commercial operators faced a more challenging cost environment. Wholesale diesel prices increased by R1.23-R1.38/l during August, intensifying operating cost pressures across freight, logistics and commercial vehicle fleets.”
New energy vehicle (NEV) adoption is also accelerating. Between January and July, 16,289 NEVs were sold, already equal to 97.5% of total 2025 NEV sales and above the 15,596 units recorded in 2024. The year-to-date mix comprises 8,078 hybrids, 5,851 plug-in hybrids and 2,360 battery electric vehicles, showing that consumers are adopting multiple electrified technology pathways, said Naamsa.
Toyota retained its position as South Africa’s most popular brand in August, with 13,814 units sold.
The top 15 selling brands:
1. Toyota ― 13,814
2. Suzuki ― 6,505
3. Volkswagen Group ― 5,668
4. Ford ― 3,202
5. Hyundai ― 3,034
6. Chery ― 2,763
7. GWM ― 2,594
8. Isuzu ― 2,531
9. Jetour ― 1,952
10. Kia ― 1,783
11. Renault ― 1,702
12. Mahindra ― 1,563
13. Omoda & Jaecoo ― 1,305
14. BMW Group ― 1,299
15. Tata ― 853
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