2012, according to the country’s National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Naamsa).

Revealing vehicle sales results for 2012 today, Naamsa disclosed that 623,914 new vehicle units were sold in South Africa over the year, up 9.2 per cent on the previous year’s sales figure of 571,415.

December sales saw a small increase as compared to December 2011 figures, with 46,016 vehicles sold making a 1.8 per ent increase on 2011 sales.

“On balance, 2012 turned out to be a year of relatively solid growth,” Nico Vermeulen Director of Naamsa said announcing the results, reports Business Day.

“New vehicle sales generally, and new car sales in particular, performed well above initial expectations despite a slowing economy,” he explained.

Vermeulen also revealed that motor industry related turnover reached 182 billion rand ($21 billion) in 2012, displaying 11 percent growth compared to the previous year’s numbers.

Of the sales recorded in 2012, the passenger car market performed particularly well, achieving a 7.2 percent increase in sales year-on-year.  This rise in passenger car demand can largely be attributed to the rental car industry, according to Naamsa, with car rental companies accounting for 14.3 percent of total passenger car sales.

With these positive trends in mind, Naamsa has projected a 7.3 percent increase in domestic vehicle sales for 2013, in so far as the South African economy also expands by 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, export sales were also strong across last year, adding an estimated 52 million rand ($6 billion) to the industry’s revenue, with export sales for 2013 projected to grow to 361,000 units according to Naamsa.  As such, the Association said, South Africa’s reputation as a respected car manufacturing company remains firmly established in the industry and will grow year by year – currently selling vehicles to 148 international destinations.