March was another stellar month of sales for the South African car industry, as 58,060 units were sold last month, extending the new car market’s winning streak.
This represents a 17.3% year-on-year increase from March 2025, and the best March sales figure since 2007.
This is according to a report by Cars.co.za, based on industry sales data from Naamsa.
While legacy brands managed to hold onto their top spots, as was expected, emerging brands – particularly Chinese brands – played their part in a successful March.
The best-selling Chinese brand last month was GWM, which managed to finish in seventh place overall, thanks to its 2,777 units sold.
Shortly on GWM’s heels was Chery, with 2,390 total sales, many of which were the best-selling Chinese car in South Africa – the Tiggo 4 Pro.
The last Chinese brand that managed a top-ten finish was Jetour, knocking Kia off the list in the process by selling 1,768 units.
Finding itself outside the top ten brands was Omoda & Jaecoo, which sold 1,433 units and managed to place 14th.
In fifth, and 17th overall, was MG, which sold 689 total units in South Africa last month, beating established brands like Mercedes-Benz, Honda, and Mazda.
March also marked the first month BYD reported their sales to Naamsa. The new energy vehicle (NEV) specialists managed 589 sales, and barely missed out on the Chinese top-five list.
All in all, passenger car sales grew 18.2% year-on-year from 33,316 to 39,370 units, while light commercial vehicles grew 15.7%, from 13,445 to 15,557 units.
According to Naamsa, this strong sales performance can be attributed to improved consumer confidence, owing to multiple interest rate cuts throughout 2025.
It did warn that the local car industry is facing difficult months ahead, as a result of macro-economic factors, including the conflict in the Middle East and the rising cost of fuel.
South Africa’s favourite Chinese cars
Chinese car brands have become a mainstay on South Africa’s roads, with many climbing into the top ten and looking like that’s where they’ll stay for some time.
Below is a list of the ten best-selling Chinese cars in South Africa last month. Click on their prices for more details about each model.
1. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – 1,888 units
2. GWM Haval Jolion – 1,262 units
3. Omoda C5 – 845 units
4. GWM P-Series – 785 units
5. Jetour T2 – 646 units
6. Jetour T1 – 437 units
7. GWM Haval H6 – 434 units
8. Jetour Dashing – 414 units
9. Jaecoo J5 – 319 units
10. Chery Tiggo 7 – 290 units
