- South Africa is the largest automobile market in the whole of Africa, with a volume of more than 600 000 vehicles registered in 2012 (more than 350 000 passenger cars).

- Automobile production is also very present with indeed seven factories producing more than 500 000 vehicles in 2012 (more than 300 000 passenger cars). Existing plants are: East London: Daimler; Isipingo: Toyota; Kempston Road: Isuzu; Rosslyn: BMW and Nissan; Silverton: Ford; Straundale: GM; Uitenhage: Volkswagen.

- Exports exceed 200 000 units per year (mainly to other countries in Africa, Europe and the United States) while imports do not exceed 100 000 units per year. The offset nature of this market compared to other regions of the world seems to explain this fact.

- The strike which affected the car industry in South Africa in September (demanding  a wage increase of 14%) had a significant negative impact on exports and on vehicle sales on the local market. For this reason, the NAAMSA has lowered its forecasted passenger car production for 2013 from 340 000 units to 290 000 units.