Changing shape of SA’s auto industry
South Africa’s auto market is evolving.
Even with the economy under pressure, people are still buying cars in greater numbers. Thanks to lower interest rates, Lightstone is expecting new vehicle sales to grow by more than 11% this year compared to 2024.
naamsa reported new vehicle sales in August 2025 were 18.5% up on August 2024. That’s six consecutive months of year-on-year double-digit growth. Our story titled Double-digit new vehicle sales hit six-month milestone points out that new Light Vehicle inflation rose 1.1% year-on-year in July 2025, a 19th successive month where it came in below Headline CPI. This suggests manufacturers are helping drive sales up by keeping price increases down.
While new vehicle sales are rising, so too is the preference for Crossover/SUVs, South Africa’s favourite bodyshape. As our lead article Crossover/SUV is SA’s top vehicle bodyshape choice points out, used vehicle buyers have switched to Crossover/SUVs too.
Our third story stays with the used car market and North West leads used-car prices. According to an analysis of data from our Signio platform for the period June to August 2025, the North West recorded the highest prices while an analysis of the big three provinces threw up another surprise - with prices in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal generally mirroring each other over the last 20 months, moving between R350 000 and R400 000, and average prices in the Western Cape peaking at just under R340 000 – among the lowest in the country.
We will keep tracking the twists and turns of the auto market, and as always, if there is a topic you would like to see covered or any questions you need answered, please let us know.
