Of the 262 281 new light vehicles (passenger cars and light commercial vehicles) that were imported to South Africa in 2021, a staggering 49.3%, came from India.
The remaining portion was imported from 23 other countries, including Japan, China and Germany.
Imports of these vehicles increased from 203 572 units in 2020 to 262 281 units in 2021 – an increase of 28.8%.
Passenger car imports accounted for 78.3% of the total passenger car sales of 340 340 units, while light commercial vehicle imports accounted for 18.1% of total light commercial vehicle sales of 133 078 units.
In the resulting competition between imported and locally manufactured vehicles, South African consumers were the winners as they were spoiled for choice at competitive prices.
The top counties of origin for vehicles imported into South Africa were:
1. India (Tata, Mahindra)
2. Japan (Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Datsun, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda, Lexus)
3. China (Baic, Haval, Foton)
4. Germany (Peugeot, Smart, Renault, BMW, Jaguar, Audi, Volvo, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Fiat, Mini, Alfa Romeo, Land Rover
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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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Ford will launch seven new models in Europe by 2029, it announced recently, as it seeks to grow its flagging passenger car sales, fend off fierce competition from Chinese rivals and maintain an edge in the continent's commercial vehicle market.
The battle between Chinese carmakers and their Japanese competitors in South Africa increasingly appears to be a fait accompli in favour of the newcomers from China.
Volvo Cars and Google are working together to shape a new generation of driving experiences by combining automotive engineering with artificial intelligence.
