Light Vehicles manufactured in India accounted for 70% of the 108 000 Light Vehicles sold in South Africa in 2023 for less than R300 000 through the various dealer networks.
The Light Vehicle market (Passenger & Light Commercial) was dominated by the ubiquitous Hatchback, and also included small Sedans, Sub-1-Ton and 1-Ton Pick-Ups (single-cabs), Panel Vans, MPVs and Crossover/SUVs.
Suzuki made up 43% of those Indian imports, followed by Renault (19%) and Toyota (17%). South African-built vehicles accounted for 23% of this sub-R300 000 sales basket (Volkswagen and Nissan), with the balance of the vehicles coming from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, France and Poland.
Origin of vehicles sold for less than R300k in 2023 – share of Light Vehicle sales
Changing tack slightly, how well are these vehicles expected to retain their value after two years? To answer this question, we used Lightstone’s Residual Value Forecasting tool to gauge how much of the original suggested retail price can be expected to be recuperated when or if one of these vehicles were to be resold in 2025.
Interestingly the Indian-built vehicles once again come out on top, with an expected retention rate of 86% (so if a new vehicle cost R200 000 in 2023, one could expect it to retail for R172 000 in 2025, given average mileage/condition). This is only marginally ahead of locally manufactured vehicles, which have a retention rate of 85.8%.
For some of the other countries contributing to this basket of vehicles (remembering that they only comprised a combined 7% of the market), Chinese-built vehicles are expected to retain 83.9% of their value, while South Korean-made vehicles are at 83.6%.
Origin of vehicles sold for less than R300k in 2023 – RVF at 2 years old
