Why are car taxes in South Africa so high?

I am traveling to South Africa and I need to buy a car. But I have looked up in the Internet and prices are incredibly high.

This is a really good question. Actually cars are manufactured in S.A. I believe VW has a plant near CT but obviously the parts are imported and you are wondering why the tariffs are so ridiculous. This is common of many African countries; its a way of redistributing wealth. People in S.A. who have enough money to buy cars pay about 50% above the MSRP so that the government can collect the tariff and use it to fund much needed social programs. General's answer is interesting but fails to explain a few things. The U.S. has a Toyota plant where workers get paid vastly more than their S.A. counterparts, the CEO compensation package is also I'm sure much larger and fuel costs don't deviate that much. So why does it cost almost twice as much to buy the same Toyota in S.A.? Because the government levies huge tariffs.

Well what can we say... Welcome to the lovely South Africa....
Buy an elephant...?

They're cheap and no gas needed.
Probably because cars are not manufactured there so they have to import them
I want a bicycle and I was thinking the same thing!

Well at least walking is fun and good exercise!
...Yeah right...
most of the cars, although assembled locally, are built with all imported parts, with the exception of a few.

labour costs (some of the highest in the world), high fuel costs, and ceo's taking home fat packages al add up to some of the most expensive car prices in the world.
the general knows stuff.