South Africa in October recorded its highest monthly new-vehicle sales total of the year, at 61 890 vehicles, reports naamsa | The Automotive Business Council.

Sales last month inched up a mere 0.4% from September’s 61 656 units, but were up a significant 10.4% compared with October last year.

“October’s sales are encouraging, but the small increase from September calls for a balanced reading of the results,” says National Automobile Dealers’ Association chairperson Brandon Cohen.

“Customers are still making careful decisions about what they can afford, and a stronger overall sales figure does not mean that pressure on household budgets has eased.”

Sales for the first ten months of the year now total 554 081 vehicles – an increase of 12.3% compared with the same period last year.

“The market is well placed to exceed 600 000 sales this year,” says Cohen. “A further 45 919 sales across November and December would take us to that milestone.”

When looking at the various segments, passenger car sales in October were 13.6% higher than October last year.

Sales of light commercial vehicles (LCVs), including bakkies and minibuses, were up 2.2% on October last year.

Medium commercial vehicle sales dropped 0.9% in October, to 770 units.

Heavy truck and bus sales reached 2 347 units – up 8.1% compared with October 2025.

Last month’s true star was probably the export market, with sales surprising on the upside reaching 38 117 units – a 6.3% increase compared with the corresponding month last year.

Export sales have been in decline since February.

naamsa says the stronger performance is supported particularly by LCV and extra-heavy commercial vehicle exports.

Notwithstanding October’s tally, cumulative exports for the first ten months

of the year remained 8.3% below the corresponding period last year.

NEV Sales Surge
South Africa’s new-energy vehicle (NEV) market continues to show strong upward momentum, especially on the back of rapidly rising fuel prices.

NEVs include hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

According to naamsa, cumulative NEV sales for the first nine months of the year reached 22 389 units.

This number eclipses 2025’s full-year NEV-sales total of 16 703 units by 34%, with a full quarter’s sales still to be tallied.

“This acceleration in alternative powertrain adoption is vividly underscored by the milestone that one in every nine cars sold in September was an NEV,” says naamsa.

Underlying this broader market penetration is a fundamental compositional shift, adds the auto industry body, with rechargeable vehicles – PHEVs and BEVs – accounting for 50.5% of all year-to-date NEV sales by the end of September (8 082 PHEVs and 3 217 BEVs), with HEVs at 11 090 units.

“This illustrates an evolving adoption pathway, as consumers are progressively transitioning along the electrification journey from traditional hybrids toward fully rechargeable powertrains,” notes naamsa.