The naamsa new vehicle sales numbers for September 2026 put the local industry at 61 645 units for the month, including Passenger Cars, Light Commercials and the heavy stuff. That is 3 747 units (or a massive 12.7%) up on August 2026’s 57 898. South Africans are still buying, thank goodness.
Toyota remains king. Including Lexus and Hino, the group moved a Toyota record 15 366 units, up from 13 814 in August. Nobody else is even in that conversation. Hilux topped everything with 3 769 units, Corolla Cross sold 1 964 cars, while Starlet Cross and Starlet did 1578 and 1573 respectively. Suzuki took second spot in an all-Japanese front row with 6 668, a small step up from 6 505 in the previous month.
Volkswagen Group, Audi included, took third on 5 968, more than the 5 668 it sold in August. Polo and T-Cross still carry the passenger business. Ford slipped a notch in volume, 3 190 against 3 202, but still snatched fourth place overall from Hyundai. The big Korean was fifth on 3 057 units, almost flat on the month before.
Then the board gets interesting. Isuzu climbed to 3 022 and sixth, overtaking Chery, which landed on 3 004 and seventh. A month earlier Chery was sixth on 2 763 and Isuzu eighth on 2 531. The D-MAX is having a proper run, which is truly amazing because that is the main seller, followed by the mu-X. Chery, reported here as a standalone brand and not rolled up with its sub-brands, is no longer a curiosity. It is a top 10 resident, aiming for top 3. GWM, with Haval, Tank and Ora inside the number, was eighth on 2 700, Jetour ninth on 2 036, and Kia rounding off the top ten on 1 840.
Add the Chery family the way some people want it added and the picture shifts. Chery, Jetour and Omoda & Jaecoo together did 6 543 units in September, up from 6 020 in August. That sits just behind Volkswagen Group and well clear of Ford. They are still separate businesses in Mzansi though, with separate reporting, so the official ladder does not merge them.
Further down, Renault held 1 711, Jaecoo and Omoda at 1 503, Mahindra with 1 398 (out of the top 10 again), and BMW Group 1 396 (leading Audi, JLR, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo by some distance). Nissan managed 801 vehicles. Stellantis, the whole alphabet of Alfa, Citroën, Fiat, Jeep, Leapmotor, Opel and Peugeot, managed only 700, which is quite disappointing. BYD moved 659, a modest gain on August’s 609. Still a long way from the volume brands for them, but no longer a “rounding error” either. Mercedes-Benz did 576 units.
