Chery names its first bakkie Grootman
Chery has named its first bakkie for South Africa Grootman, a name chosen by South Africans. The model is planned to make its local debut in the first quarter of 2027.
- Product News
- 2 October 2026
South Africa’s new vehicle market recorded aggregate domestic sales of 61 645 units in September 2026, an increase of 12.7% compared with the 54 706 units sold during September 2025.
Export sales moved in the opposite direction, with 31 473 units recorded during the month, an 18.8% decrease compared with September last year, the lates figures from The Automotive Business Council | naamsa reflects.
Of the total reported domestic industry sales, an estimated 50 171 units, or 81.4%, represented dealer sales. The vehicle rental industry accounted for 13.8%, government purchases for 2.6% and corporate fleet sales for 2.2%.
The passenger car market was a significant contributor to the September performance. New passenger car sales reached 44 291 units, up 14.7% from the 38 615 units recorded in September 2025. The car rental industry accounted for 18.4% of new passenger vehicle sales during the month.
Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses also increased, reaching 14 361 units. This represented growth of 9.6% compared with the 13 099 units sold during September 2025.
Medium commercial vehicle sales reached 789 units, a 3.4% increase over the 763 units sold in September 2025. Heavy truck and bus sales, however, declined to 2 204 units from 2 229 units a year earlier.
Commenting on the performance, naamsa CEO Dr Mncane Mthunzi says the South African new vehicle market closed the third quarter of 2026 on a remarkably resilient footing, with September sales increasing by 12,7% year-on-year to 61 645 units. “This performance is particularly encouraging given the increasingly difficult operating environment facing consumers and businesses, including higher borrowing costs, renewed inflationary pressures and subdued economic growth.”
The new energy vehicle (NEV) market also continued to expand. During the first eight months of 2026, cumulative NEV sales reached 18 945 units, already exceeding the 16 703 units recorded during the whole of 2025 by 13.4%.
Traditional hybrid electric vehicles accounted for 49.6% of NEV sales year to date, followed by plug-in hybrids at 36.5% and battery electric vehicles at 13.8%.
According to naamsa, PHEVs and BEVs combined now account for just over half of NEV sales. By August, PHEV sales had reached 6 919 units, compared with 2 810 units for the whole of 2025, while BEV sales reached 2 622 units compared with 1 088 units in 2025.
View more results here: AVAF Infographic September 2026 002
Chery has named its first bakkie for South Africa Grootman, a name chosen by South Africans. The model is planned to make its local debut in the first quarter of 2027.
SA Auto Week 2026 is scheduled to take place in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, from 13 to 16 October, with the event marking five years of SA Auto Week.
South Africa’s domestic new-vehicle market strengthened in September, recording 61 645 sales, its highest monthly total of 2026. Sales increased by 3 747 vehicles, or 6.5%, from August’s originally reported total and were 12.7% higher than in September 2025.
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You can't buy happiness but you can buy cars and that's kind of the same thing.
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SA Auto Week 2026 is scheduled to take place in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, from 13 to 16 October, with the event marking five years of SA Auto Week.
South Africa’s domestic new-vehicle market strengthened in September, recording 61 645 sales, its highest monthly total of 2026. Sales increased by 3 747 vehicles, or 6.5%, from August’s originally reported total and were 12.7% higher than in September 2025.
A dispute over the payload ratings of Jetour’s T1 and T2 SUVs has developed further following weighbridge testing in Gauteng, with the Automobile Association (AA) questioning some of the results and Jetour South Africa maintaining that its revised figures have been independently verified.