Sales boom was hard to predict, says NADA chairperson

There are very few industry commentators who could have predicted the vehicle sales boom that we’ve seen in the second half of the year,” says Brandon Cohen, Chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), commenting on the retail sales for November.

Aggregate industry sales of 54 896 units in November 2025 were 12.5% higher than in November 2024, while the year-to-date total of 547 966 units is already a remarkable 15.4% ahead of the figure recorded in the first 11 months of last year.

“The aggressive marketing of a wide range of affordable models from China and India is playing a major role in boosting retail sales. At the same time, the rental industry is a significant contributor, accounting for 16.3% of the overall market and as much as 21.2% of the new passenger car market, as operators optimistically fleet up ahead of the festive season, buoyed by an expected influx of international tourists.

“Consumer confidence has also been supported by the recent successful staging of the global G20 Conference, lower fuel prices and positive signals from the fiscus regarding South Africa’s improving creditworthiness, tight monetary controls and further reductions in interest rates. This has resulted in a noticeable improvement in finance approvals as affordability strengthens and credit conditions become more favourable,” Brandon says.

“The ongoing buoyancy in the country’s economic environment, together with attractive incentives to purchase new vehicles before year-end, is expected to hopefully bring another strong month of sales in December and one of the highest annual totals of the past decade,” he concludes.