Indian cars are taking over South Africa's roads

Auto Dec 30, 2025

A new report says that in 2025, half of all vehicles sold in South Africa will have an Indian connection—either made by companies like Mahindra and Tata or built with parts from India.
India's influence is growing fast: even 84% of Japanese-branded light vehicles sold in South Africa last year were actually imported from India.

Local car scene is shifting fast

Indian-made cars now make up nearly half of all passenger vehicle sales in South Africa, thanks to lower production costs.
Chinese brands like Haval and Cherry only managed 11% last year.
This is a big change from 2009, when almost half the cars were locally made and just 5% came from India—making things tougher for local manufacturers today.