Car sales plummeting in South Africa while EV sales surge

Year-on-year car sales in South Africa have declined for eight consecutive months, with sales in March 2024 being almost 6,000 units less than in March 2023.

This is according to data from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), which shows that monthly car sales have been down on a year-on-year basis since July 2023.

Naamsa reported new car sales of 50,157 units in March 2023. Only 44,237 units were sold in South Africa during the same month in 2024.

Moreover, the figure of 50,157 units for March 2023 was down from 50,607 in March 2022.

“The constrained business environment amplified by weak consumer demand and the recent Easter holidays have impacted the new vehicle market’s performance in March 2024,” Naamsa said in its latest report.

More new cars were sold in South Africa in May and June 2023 than in their corresponding months the year prior.

The South African market saw 43,060 new cars sold in May 2023, compared to 39,177 in May 2022. Nearly 47,000 vehicles were sold in June 2023, while only 41,019 were sold in the same month the year prior.

Combined, the difference in sales between the months totals 9,674. However, South Africa sold nearly 11,000 new cars fewer between March 2023 and March 2024, than it did in the same period a year prior.

South Africa shatters EV sales record

Despite the significant drop in car sales year-on-year, more new electric vehicles (EVs) were sold in the country in 2023 than in any other year.

Overall, 931 new fully electric EVs were sold in South Africa in 2023.

Toyota South Africa first revealed this number during its State of the Motoring Industry (SOMI) 2024 address in January 2024, and it has since been confirmed by Naamsa.

This represents an 85% increase in EV sales over the 502 units sold in 2022. Moreover, this number surpasses the total number of electric cars sold in South Africa from 2020 to 2023 by 119 units.

Toyota said the number of fully electric cars available to South Africa had increased from eight in 2021 to 31 in 2023.

With several models now selling for under R1.5 million in South Africa, EVs are also becoming more accessible.

Overall, South Africa’s sales volumes of new energy vehicles (NEVs) — which include traditional hybrid (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) — increased by roughly 61%.

Nearly 6,500 HEVs were sold in South Africa in 2023, roughly 60% more than the 4,050 units sold the year prior.

Despite the increase, the overall share of HEVs in NEV sales volumes decreased from 87% to 84% due to fully electric cars and plug-ins recording proportionally larger sales figures.

The proportion of NEV sales that went to fully electric cars increased slightly from 11% to 12%.

PHEVs performed particularly well in 2023, with units sold more than doubling from 122 to 267, increasing this type of NEV’s market share from 3% to 4%.

The table below shows EV, HEV, and PHEV sales in South Africa from 2018 to 2023.