South Africa's vehicle exports fell 6.9% in June even as domestic sales reached their strongest June performance since 2007, according to the latest figures released by the Automotive Business Council (Naamsa).
The industry exported 33 879 vehicles during the month, down from 36 377 units in June 2025, while aggregate domestic new vehicle sales increased 15.3% year on year to 54 482 units.
Commercial vehicle sales remained positive. Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles, including bakkies and minibuses, increased 8.4% to 13 171 units, while heavy trucks and buses recorded the strongest growth, rising 15.9% to 2 271 units. Medium commercial vehicle sales edged up 0.6% to 647 units.
Demand for medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) was closely linked to investment, freight movement, construction, mining, agriculture and logistics activity, Naamsa said.
The council said improving logistics performance provided an important foundation for future market growth. It pointed to improvements in port performance, including Durban's ranking as the world's most improved container port in the 2025 World Bank Container Port Performance Index, as well as reported gains in berth utilisation, equipment availability, vessel traffic and cargo throughput.
"For the MHCV market, these developments are encouraging, as improving logistics efficiency and higher freight volumes typically translate into increased fleet utilisation, stronger replacement demand, and renewed investment in commercial vehicles over the medium term," it said.
Government fleet purchases strongly supported the market, with passenger vehicle acquisitions rising by 22.1% and light commercial vehicle purchases increasing by 41.8%.
The automotive industry contributes 5.2% to South Africa's GDP and accounts for 23.8% of manufacturing output.
