New vehicle sales in South Africa continued to climb last month, continuing a positive trend for the first half of the year.
According to industry body Naamsa’s automotive business council, sales hit 47,294 units in June, an 18.7% rise over June 2024 and reflecting a sustained recovery in consumer and fleet demand.
The passenger car segment saw the biggest gain with 32,570 units sold, a 21.7% increase over June 2024.
Light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses sold 12,129 units for a gain of 14.9% over the same month last year.
For the first half of the year, new vehicle sales are 13.6% higher than the corresponding period in 2024.
The growth is being driven by an influx of affordable imported models, while locally built cars are in decline. Between January and May 2025, new light vehicle imports by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) increased by 25.6% and by the independent importers by 33.4% compared with 2024. However, domestic sales by the OEMs of locally manufactured models dropped 14% over the same period.