South Africans bought more new-energy vehicles in the first nine months of 2026 than in the whole of last year, and most of them now of the plug-in variety. Plug-in hybrids outsell fully electric cars by more than 2.5 to one.
Sales of new-energy vehicles – hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles – reached 22 389 by the end of September, industry body Naamsa said in its October sales release on Monday. That is 34% more than the 16 703 sold in all of 2025, with a quarter still to go. One in nine new cars sold in September was a new-energy vehicle.
Rechargeable vehicles made up 50.5% of new-energy sales this year, having passed the halfway mark on a cumulative basis in July. Plug-in hybrids accounted for 8 082 of them and battery electric cars for 3 217, against 11 090 conventional hybrids, which can’t be charged from the grid.
Battery-electric cars, or BEVs, were about 14% of new-energy sales and less than 1% of the roughly 490 000 new vehicles sold in the first nine months. TechCentral reported in August that the hybrid boom was masking a flat market for fully electric cars.
Rechargeable vehicles made up 50.5% of new-energy sales this year, having passed the halfway mark on a cumulative basis in July.
Naamsa data, October 2026
Fuel costs rose sharply in October. Inland 95-octane petrol passed R30/l for the first time, reaching R30.25 from 7 October, 12.4% more than in September. Even after the fuel levy cuts announced in the medium-term budget – R1.50/l on petrol and R3/l on diesel from 4 November – petrol would remain about 39% above January levels at October prices, Naamsa said.
Chinese brands sold 11 319 cars and light commercial vehicles in October, or 19.3% of the 58 773 sold, according to TechCentral’s analysis of Naamsa’s figures by manufacturer. In October 2025, they sold 8 506, or 16.1%.
Part of the increase comes from brands that have since started reporting to Naamsa: BYD, which began reporting in March and sold 814 vehicles in October, Changan (375) and LDV (167). Excluding them, the Chinese share rose to 17%.
Chery Group’s three brands – Chery, Jetour and Omoda & Jaecoo – together sold 6 057 vehicles, up 38% from 4 377 a year earlier. Counted as one, they trailed only Toyota (14 495), Suzuki (7 292) and the Volkswagen Group (6 515). Jetour alone grew from 856 to 2 102, while Great Wall Motors (GWM) rose 4% to 2 919.
MG sold 221 vehicles, down from 606, and Omoda & Jaecoo 1 201, down from 1 311. Nissan’s local sales nearly halved to 698, and its exports fell to 44 from 351.
The figures cover only manufacturers that report to Naamsa, so the true Chinese share is higher. Geely, for instance, sells cars in South Africa but does not appear. Bentley and Lamborghini stopped reporting in 2022, and the BMW and Mercedes-Benz figures are Naamsa estimates. Chinese brands took 16.8% of passenger car sales in 2025, up from 11.2% in 2024, TechCentral reported in July.
Sales up 10.4%
Domestic new vehicle sales rose 10.4% year on year to 61 890 in October. Passenger car sales rose 13.6% to 45 084, with rental companies buying 21.4% of them, and light commercial vehicle sales 2.2% to 13 689. Sales for the year to date are up 12.3% at 554 081.
Exports rose 6.3% to 38 117, and 21.1% on September, but remain 8.3% down for the year. Exports of light commercial vehicles are down 25.4%. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
