The South African Motor Body Repairers Association (Sambra) says rising vehicle write-offs may be reaching a potential risk point, with some vehicles now being written off at levels as low as 35% of their value.

Sambra national director Juan Hanekom says this trend is increasing the volume of damaged vehicles entering the market, placing greater pressure on existing systems to ensure transparency and proper tracking.

“In the past, Sambra has strongly supported the introduction of a transparent vehicle salvage database (VSD) as an important step in protecting consumers and improving visibility within the insurance vehicle parc,” he notes.

“However, given the growing scale of vehicle write-offs, there is increasing recognition that this alone may not be sufficient to address the broader challenge.”

Hanekom says a VSD would apply largely to insured vehicles, which represent only a portion of the total vehicle parc, leaving a significant number of vehicles outside of any formal tracking mechanism.

South Africa’s vehicle parc exceeds 13-million vehicles, with the average age estimated at around 10.8 years.

This, combined with rising write-off volumes, highlights the need for a more holistic view of how vehicles move through their lifecycle.

“We are seeing a situation where vehicles that have been declared uneconomical to repair may still find their way back into circulation in different forms,” says Hanekom.

“This raises important questions around safety, transparency and the integrity of vehicle records.

“The current largely unregulated process may unintentionally incentivise this behaviour, and exploring complementary measures may be the only way to meaningfully resolve and support greater system integrity.”

While a VSD remains a critical part of the solution, Sambra believes it is important for the various stakeholders to continue exploring additional complementary measures.

“Globally, a number of markets have adopted structured approaches to managing vehicles that have reached the end of their usable life, with systems that improve traceability and support safer outcomes across the value chain,” explains Hanekom.

These approaches include formalised processes for deregistration, dismantling and material recovery, supported by clear documentation and oversight mechanisms.

Hanekom emphasises that any future framework in South Africa would need to be carefully considered and locally relevant, taking into account the complexity of the country’s automotive ecosystem.

“This is not about prescribing a single solution, but rather about encouraging ongoing collaboration across insurers, repairers, manufacturers and regulators to strengthen the system as a whole.

“As an industry, we have an opportunity to build on existing initiatives and explore practical ways to improve transparency, enhance consumer protection and support safer roads.”