The best-selling cars in SA in August

Sales of new vehicles in SA grew for the 11th consecutive month in August and hit a 10-year high.

For the second consecutive month sales exceeded 50,000 units, with 51,880 cars and commercial vehicles leaving showrooms in August — an increase of 18.7% from the 43,692 units sold in August 2024.

It was the largest sales month since September 2015, said Ryan Seele, executive member of the National Automobile Dealers Association (Nada), commenting on the August sales figures Naamsa released on Monday.

“The new vehicle market’s performance has enabled year-to-date sales to remain in double-digit growth territory, the market up 14.5% for the first eight months of the year,” said Lebo Gaoaketse, head of marketing and Communication at WesBank.

“The market has been driven by demand for passenger cars and dominated by two leading brands that enjoyed a combined market share of 38.2% during August.”

More favourable economic conditions are improving consumer and business sentiment, driven by lower interest rates, mixed savings in the fuel price and lower inflation that is alleviating pressure on household budgets. “This is freeing up the pent-up demand that has been in the market as evidenced by application volumes,” said Gaoaketse. “Slowly, consumers and businesses are freeing up disposable budget that is enabling overdue replacement or allowing solutions to changing mobility needs in the lives of South Africans.”

Gaoaketse said household budgets remained under strain and that affordability in a sweet spot of between R350,000 and R400,000, according to the bank’s average deal size, was still driving market activity.

Millennials are driving the local market, with young people under the age of 35 accounting for 45% of WesBank’s customer base, said Gaoaketse.

“This drives a certain level of earnings and contributes to the affordability dynamics of the market that is also extending towards the maximum contract term to lower monthly premiums,” he said. WesBank’s average contract period for new cars was 72 months during July and 76 months for pre-owned vehicles.

Passenger cars accounted for 71.2% of the market in August, the segment up 22.5% to 36,914 units compared to August 2024 and the highest figure since September 2015. Light commercial vehicles accounted for 23.8%, increasing 15.1% to 12,326 units.

Toyota retained its place as SA’s most popular brand ahead of Suzuki, Volkswagen and Hyundai, with the Hilux and Corolla Cross, respectively, the best selling light commercial vehicle and passenger car.

Two locally produced vehicles in the affordable passenger car segment, the Toyota Corolla Cross and the VW Vivo, were the best-selling passenger cars for the month, each selling more than 2,000 units.

“This demonstrates that SA consumers continue to show strong demand for locally built vehicles, even amid the influx of lower-priced imports entering the market,” said Seele.

“The official results could have been even higher if more of the newer Chinese brands had reported sales figures. One addition this month was MG, which retailed 443 vehicles.”

TOP 40 SELLERS AUGUST 2025