The average woman buyer of light vehicles in South Africa will most likely purchase a car from a dealer in a major metro or city, and it will be petrol-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) Toyota, Suzuki, Volkswagen or Chery, says data, analytics and market intelligence company Lightstone.

Recent research by the company notes that almost all new and used light vehicle sales to women happen in South Africa’s major metros and cities.

Lightstone’s analysis of South African vehicle buyers, based on data sourced through its Signio system since the start of 2021, shows that 99% of vehicle purchases by women take place in areas classified as urban rather than rural, a trend that has remained consistent for more than five years.

Toyota has been the preferred brand across all sales to women (new and used combined), with a 17% share in 2021, rising to 19% in 2023, before slipping back to 17% this year.

Suzuki is in second spot currently, having overtaken Volkswagen last year, while Chery and Ford round out the top five.

Interestingly, the top four brands so far this year make up 50% of all light vehicles purchased by women, says Lightstone.

The research house adds that this year’s top-ten list for women buyers is not the same as in 2021.

As the country emerged from Covid, Toyota and Volkswagen have led the way, followed by Ford and Hyundai, while Nissan completed the Top 5.

Numbers six to ten belong to Suzuki, Mazda, BMW, Haval and Audi, in that order.

This top ten made up a combined 81% of light vehicle sales to women.

Fast-forward to this year and Mazda, BMW and Audi have all dropped out of the top ten, having been replaced by Chery, along with Jetour and Mahindra.

The top ten this year, to date, have been responsible for a combined 79% of sales to women.

When considering fuel type, 80% of female buyers are currently choosing petrol-powered ICE vehicles.

This is up from 77% in 2021.

Also, in 2021, 23% of sales were diesel-powered ICE vehicles, while new-energy vehicles (NEVs) made up a mere 0.1% of the market.

In 2026, the preference for diesel ICE vehicles has shrunk to 17%, while NEVs’ share has grown to 3%, reports Lightstone.

Factors driving the significant bump in NEV sales to women include elevated fuel prices and the availability of a wider variety of affordable NEVs, notes the company.

As consumers are now more concerned about fuel economy when buying a car, they are willing to consider more economical hybrid options – both traditional and plug-in – while full battery-electric options are now also available for under R400 000.