Sales of new passenger vehicles are down. Between January and June 2024, around 161,000 of these vehicles were sold.

Last year, more than 174,000 vehicles, or 13,000 more, were sold in the same time period. That’s a 7% decrease on the amount sold in 2023.

A contributing factor to the decrease in passenger vehicle sales is their rising cost. Data from Transunion, an international credit bureau, shows that new car prices were 4.7% higher in the first quarter of 2024 than they were at the same period in 2023. Used-car prices increased 2.1% over the same period.

On the up side, sales of hybrid and electric vehicles are on the increase, despite being a relatively small portion of monthly new vehicle sales.

The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid and the Suzuki Grand Vitara Hybrid are among the most popular hybrid cars available in South Africa, according to AutoTrader.