South Africa’s automotive market has entered a new phase of recovery, following its strongest performance in nearly two decades in 2025 and, against this backdrop, marketing agency Rogerwilco reports that consumer choices are increasingly being shaped through search behaviour, social conversation and peer validation.

The company highlights that the battle in South Africa’s automotive market is no longer just for market share, but for mental availability at the moment of decision.

Rogerwilco’s web organic landscape function, or WOLF, share-of-search data highlights that the share of organic automotive searches occurring outside brand-owned platforms grew from 54% in 2024 to 62% in 2025, with publishers, aggregators and marketplaces capturing a growing proportion of high-intent traffic.

Digital motoring marketplace AutoTrader alone recorded over 649-million searches in 2025, equating to more than 21 every second.

“With 92% of car buyers completing their research online before visiting a dealership, search behaviour, social conversation and sales data can no longer be seen in isolation. They are part of the same system and the brands that understand how they move together will always be a step ahead,” says Rogerwilco senior brand strategist Mongezi Mtati.

At the same time, challenger brands, particularly from Asia, are gaining ground, driven by strong visibility, competitive pricing and positive sentiment.

Car maker Chery has seen the most dramatic shift, with a 510% increase in social mentions, rising nine places to become the most mentioned passenger car brand in South Africa, overtaking fellow vehicle manufacturer BMW, which declined by 13%.

Vehicle manufacturers GWM and Mahindra saw sales jump more than 40% in 2025, and car maker Jetour is already anticipating record monthly sales figures in early 2026 and breaking into the top ten.

Car brands such as the Toyota Starlet recorded a 108% increase in monthly search volume, while the Suzuki Swift saw a 72% rise.

Heritage brands, meanwhile, continue to hold strong as original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) Toyota has extended its market leadership for a forty-sixth consecutive year, while Suzuki overtook OEM Volkswagen for second place, supported by consistent search visibility, product-market fit and its community partnership with football team Orlando Pirates.

“Brands are no longer competing to be discovered. They are competing to remain present and credible throughout the decision journey. Visibility alone creates interest, but it is sustained relevance and real-world validation that ultimately drives conversion,” says marketing technology consultancy YOUKNOW Technologies social tech product owner and consumer insights specialist Shaun Pearson.

This data does not point to a decline of legacy brands but to a more competitive market where digital presence is as important as brand history.

Rogerwilco also notes that with fuel price increases and inflationary pressure flagged by naamsa | the Automotive Business Council as emerging headwinds for the remainder of this year, the window to act while the market is still expanding is narrowing.

The company adds that any erosion of affordability will sharpen scrutiny further and the brands with the clearest, most accessible digital presence at the point of decision will be best placed to retain buyer consideration when conditions tighten.

“The brands that will lead this market are not necessarily the loudest or the best funded; they are the ones that treat search, social media and reviews as connected signals, not separate channels, and that integration is becoming more urgent.

“Generative AI is increasingly shaping the recommendations buyers encounter before they visit a website or a showroom. If a brand is not showing up credibly in those environments, it is being decided against before the conversation has even started,” notes Mtati.