New vehicle sales rose by 11% in 2025
· The South African
The new vehicle sales increase of 11% helped the motor industry in 2025. The real value of motor trade sales rose by 2.0% in 2025 in South Africa after a 3.1% decline in 2024. Despite the rise, 2025 sales were 6.5% below the 2019 level. Of the six categories, three were positive and three were negative.
2025 Winners and Losers
The winners in 2025 were new vehicle sales with a 11.0% gain followed by sales of accessories, which had a 3.4% increase and used vehicle sales rising by 2.2%. The main loser was fuel sales, which declined by 5.6%, according to Statistics South Africa.
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December 2025 sales
New vehicle sales ended 2025 with a bang with a 25.5% year on year increase in December 2025. Sales of used vehicle rose by 7.2% and the sales of accessories edged up by 2.7%.
Fuel sales fell by 1.8% year on year in December 2025, while convenience store sales dropped by 4.8%. Workshop income declined by 6.4%.
2025 New Vehicle Sales
The Automotive Business Council said new vehicle sales rose by 15.7% in 2025 to 596 818 units. This is still 8.1% below the 649 216 units achieved in 2013.
The council said the 2025 increase was due to broader economic improvements. These included the cumulative 150 basis points in interest rate cuts since September 2024. In addition there was record-low vehicle inflation and an influx of affordable model imports. Consumers also benefitted from the liquidity injection due to the “two-pot” retirement system withdrawals.
In 2025 car sales rose by 20.1%, while light commercial vehicle sales grew by 7.8%. Medium commercial vehicle sales increased by 5.6% and heavy commercial vehicle sales declined by 3.0%.
New Vehicle Annual stats sourced from Automotive Business CouncilProspects
The council expects new vehicle sales in 2026 to be between 9% and 11% higher than 2025. This is crucially dependent on how many repo rate cuts the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will implement during the year.
The SARB’s Quarterly Projection Model projected the repo rate, which is currently 6.75%, easing to 6.65% in the first quarter, 6.44% in the 2026Q2, 6.3% in the third quarter and 6.18% in the fourth quarter.
The model is only one tool that the SARB examines and this projected repo rate path remains only a broad policy guide. The SARB’s monetary policy decisions every second month will continue to be taken on a meeting-by-meeting basis. Careful attention will be made to the outlook, data outcomes, and the balance of risks to the forecast.