Car sales up, women account for more financed purchases
These are exciting times for South Africa’s light motor industry.
New vehicle sales in June were nearly 20% better than a year before, signs that the market has recovered from election concerns and is benefiting from interest rate cuts towards the end of 2024. And just as sales were well up on last year at the half-year mark, we anticipate that new vehicle sales will end 2025 nearly 8% higher than last year.
Our story New vehicle sales accelerate unpacks the latest sales data from naamsa and takes a fresh look at the strength of the Crossover/SUV bodyshape, which is now firmly entrenched as South Africa’s leading bodyshape – for both men and women, as our focus on women buyers, Toyota keeps going right for SA women, reveals.
New Hybrid & Electric Passenger vehicle sales (which includes Traditional Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid and Battery Electric vehicles), as reported to naamsa, fell away in the first half of 2025 after significant growth in the corresponding period the year before. Finally, we take a look at vehicle price inflation which, for the 17th successive month has come in below the headline CPI.
While sales are up, we can also report via Signio that light vehicle buyers have, over the past ten years, opted to finance their purchases over longer term contracts. Rising food, fuel, electricity and transport costs have squeezed consumer purchasing power, and the longer finance options, along with reduced interest rates, are a welcome relief to both consumers and the auto industry.
In the story Longer term financing has become increasingly popular an analysis from Lightstone’s Signio platform shows that repayments have reduced in quantum and may be more manageable for the buyer, although they come with a longer repayment period.
As we celebrate Women’s Month in August and the rising economic power of South African women, our leading story - Toyota Keeps Going Right for SA Women - offers a glimpse into how the gender landscape has shifted: in 2015, women accounted for 32% of financed new vehicle sales, rising to 39% by 2025.
We also see most women choose linked interest rate financing, a trend which has become stronger over the past ten years. Toyota is the brand favourite with women, followed by Volkswagen and Suzuki, which has taken the motor industry by storm over the past few years.
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