Toyota secures 24.7% market share, dominating South Africa's vehicle sales landscape

Despite South Africa’s economic and operating environment challenges, the automotive industry is showing great resilience, with new vehicle sales reaching their highest level in almost six years following 10 months of growth.

According to Naamsa, in July aggregate new vehicle sales amounted to 51,383 units, an impressive 15.6% increase from the 44,452 units sold in July 2024.

Dominating

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) continues to reflect this, dominating the charge with a market share of 24.7%.

They had the lion’s share of the passenger car market, light commercial vehicles and medium commercial vehicles with 12,694 units, with Toyota moving 12,257, Lexus 84 and Hino 353 units.

“Although the current automotive landscape remains challenging, it is remarkable to witness our brand’s consistent growth. The further reduction of the repo rate is much-welcomed relief - this will enable us to continue to serve many of our customers who trust and rely on our brands to move them forward,” said Leon Theron, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors. 

Corolla Cross

The company’s best-performing segment remains passenger cars, with 7,900 units sold. Displaying its steady performance, 1,949 Corolla Cross units found new homes whilst Starlet sales rebounded, recording 1,322 units. 

Maintaining an upward sales trend since the second quarter of 2025, the Fortuner and the Starlet Cross moved 984 units and 757 units, respectively. 

More than doubling its sales to 757 units, the Rumion returned as a stronger contender, in comparison to June 2025 (375 units). 

Despite the challenging premium luxury market, Lexus shifted a total of 84 units. The Lexus LX sold five more vehicles, signalling a keen interest in SUVs with hybrid technology.

Hilux still leads

Toyota’s star of the show remains the Hilux with 3,120 units sold in the light commercial vehicle segment, representing a segment market share of 26.8% and retains its title as South Africa’s overall best seller.

The Toyota Hiace is in fifth place with 545 units, and the Land Cruiser 79 Pick-up is in sixth place with 534 units. Moving 101 more units compared to June 2025 (186 units), the Land Cruiser Prado was also well in the mix.

Toyota’s Hino division continued its upward trajectory with a combined 353 new vehicle sales in July. Hino 500 and 700’s combined sales increased to 158 units in comparison to June 2025.

Toyota recorded 3,740 sales to business customers through its dealer network in July, the highest July result since 2019. The Toyota Vitz, Rumion, and Coaster each delivered their best monthly business sales performance of the year.

In terms of parts, the division surpassed 2 million pieces in the domestic market and recorded 372,281 pieces exported to international markets. 

Toyota vehicle exports recorded a slight increase to 4,264 units, in comparison to June 2025.