Cape Town Car Trends, 2025
Despite increasingly congested roads, the people of Cape Town still love their cars. From luxury brands like Ferrari to everyday runabouts like Toyota, there are car dealerships throughout the city.
This popularity is driven by commuters, corporate fleets, luxury tourist rentals – and “petrolheads”. The city is surrounded by wine farms and holiday spots, so SUVs and bakkies are popular too.
We examine current Cape Town car trends, from the makes and models that are popular to the year-on-year growth in the car sales industry.
Key trends in the Cape Town car market
As the population of Cape Town grows and new vehicles become available, the car-buying trends in the city are shifting. These are the current Cape Town car trends in 2025 broken down by car type.
Electric vehicles
Electric vehicles are more readily available and cheaper than in the past. BYD electric vehicles – a strong contender to Tesla – are now available in South Africa.
Eco-conscious consumers are keen to reduce their carbon footprint by driving “greener” cars, which has increased demand. According to data from Autotrader, 540 EVs were sold in 2024, a big jump from the 309 sold the previous year.
Petrol and diesel
Despite increasing demand for electric vehicles, petrol and diesel cars are far more popular.
Overall sales dipped from 2023 to 2024 across the country and the average price increased by 2.12%. So far in 2025, sales have rallied, increasing by 11.9% to April compared to the same period in 2024.
According to online views of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, interest in petrol and diesel cars remains strong.
SUVs
SUVs are the most sought-after body style across South Africa. Cape Town is no exception.
There are numerous SUVs in urban and suburban areas, especially in affluent neighbourhoods with good schools and large family homes.
SUVs are popular with people who feel nervous driving on our busy roads. They feel safer in large, raised vehicles.
Bakkies
Bakkies are very popular in South Africa, but less so in the cities as SUVs gain popularity. Bakkie sales increased from 2023 to 2024.
If you combine all the bakkies types – double cab, single cab etc. – 67,737 bakkies were sold in 2024.
Cape Town is a modern urban centre, but it is surrounded by farms. Bakkies are popular with people moving between the two.
Small cars
Small cars and hatchbacks are king in densely populated areas of Cape Town with small driveways or on-street parking.
Students in the suburbs around UCT prefer smaller cars, especially fuel-efficient and second-hand models.
Luxury cars
Cape Town boasts numerous luxury car dealerships. Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins are frequently seen driving around the city.
These brands are popular with high-net-worth individuals and agencies that rent luxury cars to tourists.
Cape Town vehicle sales
Despite global economic uncertainty, the local automotive industry maintained its growth momentum in 2025. In April, retail vehicle sales reached 42,401, nearly 12% more than the same period in 2024.
A resilient economy has meant Cape Town bucked the trend of reduced consumer spending with stronger-than-anticipated car sales.
Countrywide, the majority of sales were to individuals rather than companies or the government. Almost 88% of new vehicle sales came from franchised dealers.
Brandon Cohen, chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association, said, “The local auto sector, once again, delivered solid numbers, a pleasant surprise to even the most avid industry observers.”
Recent interest rate reductions and axed VAT increase have had a positive effect on car sales.
Among the world’s top 3 cities for car lovers
It’s official – Cape Town is a top city for car lovers. A recent study by UK automotive platform Autotrader ranked Cape Town third on a list of cities with the best car communities.
The Mother City came in third place after Austin, Texas in the US and Toronto in Canada.
To rank the cities, the study used the popularity of events like car meets, auto events and motor shows, as well as the number of Instagram posts associated with car meets.
The frequency and popularity of the Cars & Coffee events in Cape Town contributed largely to the city’s high score.
10 top-selling new cars in South Africa
There are always makes and models that stand out each year, due to popularity and price point.
These are the top 10 best-selling cars in South Africa in 2025:
- Toyota Hilux
- Suzuki Swift
- Ford Ranger
- Toyota Corolla Cross
- Hyundai Grand i10
- VW Polo Vivo
- Suzuki Fronx
- Chery Tiggo 4 Pro
- Isuzu D-Max
- Haval Jolion.
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