January arrived with a basket of goodies for South African motorists: borrowing is a little cheaper, and filling up won’t sting quite as much either. Let’s start with the interest rate. Prime has eased down to 10.25%, shaving a bit off those monthly car repayments. It’s not the kind of drop that changes your life overnight, but you might suddenly find a bit more breathing room in other spending categories like groceries or petrol.

After a few tough years, SA’s new-vehicle market, properly hit the rev limiter regularly. Like Super Max or “that Dutch oke” depending on your opinion of him, car sales bounced back big time. By October of this year, aggregate new-vehicle sales were about 15.7% higher than the same period in 2024, with October itself the strongest month since March 2015.

October was quiet - in the best way possible. No rate hike drama, no nasty fuel surprises, and for once, even insurance premiums decided to play nice.

If you’ve been driving the same car for more than three years now, then you’re in good company. Trends show that South Africans are holding onto their cars for longer than ever before - on average 6 to 8 years, up from around 5 years just a few years ago, according to iMotoNews.

September was the month of “almost”. Almost a rate cut. Almost a real fuel saving. Almost good news all around.

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August gave South African motorists plenty to talk about. On the one hand, car sales kept humming along with Toyota, Suzuki, and VW claiming nearly half the market between them. On the other, petrol prices are still pinching, especially if your weekend drive involves a Ranger-sized tank.

July 2025 brings South African motorists a mix of good and bad news. While the repo rate dropped by 0.25% — easing prime to 10.5% and trimming monthly car repayments — fuel prices edged upward, offsetting some of those savings. Still, for drivers looking to stretch their budgets, every bit helps.

The South African car market doesn’t generally have big overtaking moments but in June, one brand threw one up the inside and made it stick. According to NAAMSA’s latest sales data, Ford dropped to fifth spot overall, letting Hyundai sneak into fourth. Proving Mzansi is a bit more Seoul than Country and Western. Toyota, Suzuki, and Volkswagen held steady in the top three positions, proving once again that reputation, reliability and affordability rule the local roads.

You did the responsible adult thing, and you got car insurance. You pay your premiums, you drive defensively, you even park under the shade when possible. But then one rainy Thursday, someone rear-ends you at a traffic light... and it turns out they don’t have insurance.

June kicked off with a small but meaningful win: the repo rate dropped by 0.25%, taking prime down to 10.75%. It’s not a game-changer just yet, but when every rand counts, we’ll take any help we can get.

April brought a welcome breeze of optimism to South Africa’s car market, and no, it’s not just because fuel prices are dropping again (though we’ll take that win too).