South Africa currently has seven car assembly plants
- South Africa (population 65 million) has had a relatively large automotive industry for several decades (600,000 vehicles produced in 2023, 550,000 in 2024, and 560,000 in 2025), primarily dedicated to the domestic market and large-scale exports, particularly to Europe. The country has seven assembly plants, each owned by a specific carmaker. These include the three German carmakers (Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes), three Japanese carmakers (Toyota, Nissan, and Isuzu), and one American carmaker (Ford), as GM withdrew in 2017.
- 40% of vehicles produced in South Africa are pickup trucks (Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max, Nissan Navara, Volkswagen Amarok), this type of vehicle being in high demand not only in South Africa but also throughout the African continent.
- The country's largest producer today is Volkswagen (180,000 vehicles in 2025), which assembles the Polo sedan and the Amarok pickup truck at its Uitenhage plant (Eastern Cape). It's worth noting that the Polo sold in Europe in 2025 will be imported entirely from South Africa. It is followed by Toyota (115,000 vehicles in 2025), which assembles the Corolla Cross, Fortuner, Dyna, Hiace, and the Hilux pickup truck at its Durban plant (KwaZulu -Natal). Next come Ford (87,500 vehicles in 2025) which produces the Ranger pickup in its Silverton plant (Gauteng), Mercedes (72,500 vehicles in 2025) which produces the C-Class sedan in its East London plant (Eastern Cape) and exports 99% of them, BMW (68,000 vehicles in 2025) which produces the X3 in its Rosslyn plant (Gauteng) and exports 95% of them, Isuzu (25,000 vehicles in 2025) and Nissan (11,000 vehicles in 2025).