SA new vehicle sales surge to best April in over a decade

Despite the fuel price hike, South Africans continued to flock to new car showrooms in April, extending a long-running period of growth for the sector. Domestic new vehicle sales reached 47,979 units, the best April performance since 2013 and representing an increase of 13% compared with April 2025.

The April performance reflects momentum built over preceding months, supported by improved financing conditions and firmer sentiment, said motor industry association Naamsa. However, these factors are being confronted by headwinds such as elevated energy prices, looming rising inflation expectations and a reversal in the interest rate outlook, it said.

New passenger cars sold 34,414 units last month for a 14.3% increase over April 2025, with sales for light commercial vehicles (including bakkies and minibuses) growing 9.7% to 10,966 units.

Medium commercial vehicle sales at 687 units were 10.5% up on the same month last year, while heavy trucks and buses, at 1,912 units, were 9.9% up.

“This is an amazing show of robustness by local automotive retailers in a month featuring a host of public and school holidays, together with the turmoil caused by the Middle East conflict hanging over the global economy,” commented Brandon Cohen, national chair of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (Nada).

He cautioned that new vehicle prices might increase significantly as the Middle East conflict continues to pressure vehicle and component manufacturers.

Exports remained under pressure in April, with 30,939 locally built vehicles leaving our borders, 4% down on the same month last year. Naamsa attributed the decrease to ongoing geopolitical developments and also to the phased rollout of new-model production by a key exporter.

“April 2026 marked a clear inflection point in the macroeconomic environment,” said the association. “The escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East triggered a sharp repricing in global energy markets, with oil prices moving structurally higher and introducing a broad-based cost shock across energy-intensive sectors.

“For South Africa, where road transport underpins the majority of freight activity, higher fuel prices are directly transmitted into supply chain costs, distribution margins, and ultimately consumer prices. In the vehicle market, these pressures feed through to the total cost of ownership, placing additional strain on demand in an environment characterised by tightening credit conditions and increasingly constrained real disposable incomes.

“While inflation remained relatively contained at 3.1% year-on-year in March, this reading precedes the full impact of the recent fuel price shock. The April CPI print, due in May, will be the first to reflect these effects more comprehensively. Forward-looking indicators suggest a meaningful acceleration in inflation over the coming quarters, with fuel and transport costs acting as the primary transmission channels.”

Toyota retained its market leadership in local sales last month. The top 15 brands were:

1. Toyota: 10,188

2. Suzuki: 5,363

3. Volkswagen group: 4,814

4. Hyundai: 2,857

5. Ford: 2,702

6. GWM: 2,485

7. Chery: 2,462

8. Jetour: 1,804

9. Omoda & Jaecoo: 1,383

10. BMW group: 1,366

11. Isuzu: 1,319