South Africa's new-vehicle market grew again in October. naamsa's monthly release on Monday, 2 November shows domestic sales up 10.4% to 61 890, from 56 051 in October 2025, with exports up 6.3% to 38 117. It also shows that new-energy vehicle (NEV) sales in the first nine months of the year have already passed the total for the whole of 2025.

October at a glance

naamsa's figures for October 2026 against October 2025:

  • passenger cars: 45 084, up 13.6%, with rental companies buying 21.4% of them
  • light commercials, bakkies and minibuses: 13 689, up 2.2%
  • exports: 38 117, up 6.3%, and up 21.1% on September
  • year to date (January to October): 554 081 domestic sales, up 12.3%, while exports are still 8.3% down

NEVs from January to September

naamsa's NEV figures run a month behind, so they cover January to September. In that period 22 389 NEVs were sold, 34% more than the 16 703 sold in all of 2025. Because naamsa counts conventional hybrids as NEVs, the total includes cars that can't be plugged in.

The split for January to September 2026 was:

  • conventional hybrids (HEV): 11 090, or 49.5%
  • plug-in hybrids (PHEV): 8 082
  • battery-electric vehicles (BEV): 3 217

Together, PHEVs and BEVs made up 50.5% of NEV sales in those nine months. naamsa says rechargeable cars passed the halfway mark on a cumulative basis in July, and that one in nine cars sold in September was an NEV of some kind.

Battery-electric cars are still a small share

TechCentral notes that from January to September, BEVs were about 14% of NEV sales and less than 1% of the roughly 490 000 new vehicles sold. By our calculation from naamsa's figures, the 3 217 BEVs were about 0.69% of the roughly 467 000 passenger cars and light commercials sold in that period, or about 0.65% if trucks and buses are included.

They are growing from a small base. MyBroadband counted 802 BEVs and 1 784 PHEVs in January to September 2025, so this year's BEV figure for the same months is four times higher. Its PHEV count for January to September 2026, 8 257, is slightly higher than naamsa's 8 082.

The numbers only cover brands that report to naamsa. MyBroadband points out that Geely, Dongfeng and iCaur don't yet report, and cites a conservative industry estimate that Geely alone would have sold around 2 500 EVs in 2026, which would take fully electric sales this year to about 5 717.

Who sells the plug-ins

MyBroadband's breakdown of naamsa data for September 2026 shows:

  • BYD was the top PHEV brand with 468, against 174 Chery-badged PHEVs. Adding Jetour, Omoda and Jaecoo takes Chery Group to 672.
  • Chery's new Q crossover sold 214 in its first month, more than BYD's whole BEV range (189), making it the best-selling EV among brands that report to naamsa.
  • PHEVs and BEVs together were 56% of NEV sales in September alone.

What is behind the shift

naamsa describes an evolving adoption pathway, with buyers moving from traditional hybrids towards fully rechargeable vehicles, and TechCentral notes that plug-in hybrids now outsell fully electric cars by more than 2.5 to one. Conventional hybrids are still the largest single NEV group. The reporting points to two pressures.

The first is fuel. Inland 95 petrol passed R30 a litre for the first time, naamsa says, reaching R30.25 from 7 October, 12.4% more than in September. Writing in Gadget, Volvo Car SA MD Grant Locke argues that at that price running costs weigh more heavily, and that not everyone is ready for a purely electric car.

The second is Chinese brands. According to TechCentral's analysis of naamsa data, they sold 11 319 cars and light commercials of all powertrains in October, or 19.3% of the 58 773 sold, up from 16.1% a year earlier. Without newly reporting BYD, Changan and LDV, it was 17%. With BYD and Chery Group also the top two plug-in sellers in September, according to MyBroadband, the PHEV and Chinese-brand trends overlap.

Tax and the budget

The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement speech on Wednesday, 21 October didn't mention electric vehicles. Its motoring measure was temporary fuel levy relief: R1.50 a litre off petrol and R3 off diesel from Wednesday, 4 November to 1 December, then R1 and R1.50 until 5 January 2027. naamsa says petrol would still be about 39% above January levels at October prices.

Before the speech, charging network operator Zero Carbon Charge (CHARGE) asked Treasury to restructure customs and ad valorem duties so that imported EVs are not taxed more heavily than comparable petrol and diesel cars, and also asked for rebates on cheaper EVs. In its example, an imported BEV with a customs value of R500 000 attracts R125 000 in customs duty and R141 750 in ad valorem excise duty, or R266 750 before VAT. Joubert Roux, whom Engineering News identifies as CHARGE's co-founder and chairperson, said in the company's press release of Friday, 16 October that "government is incentivising domestic EV production while the tax structure continues to constrain the consumer demand".

What to watch

  • The fourth quarter: naamsa hasn't yet published an NEV split for October, and full-year figures will show whether PHEVs overtake conventional hybrids for 2026 as a whole.
  • Missing brands: if Geely, Dongfeng or iCaur start reporting to naamsa, the official BEV count would rise.
  • Tax: CHARGE notes that Minister Parks Tau had indicated approved changes from the automotive incentive review, including to ad valorem tax, were expected in the fourth quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, subject to Treasury's concurrence, and it wants EV measures in Budget 2027.
  • Fuel: the levy relief tapers from 1 December and ends on 5 January. naamsa calls it "a tactical buffer rather than a structural solution".