Features / 9 September 2024 / Michael Taylor

Best-selling used SUVs, hatchbacks, and bakkies in South Africa – With pricing

The Toyota Fortuner, VW Polo, and Ford Ranger are the most popular pre-owned SUV, hatchback, and double-cab bakkie in South Africa, according to data from AutoTrader.

The classifieds platform recently published its Mid Year Car Industry Report for the first half of 2024, detailing several different aspects of the country’s pre-owned vehicle market.

Included in the report is a breakdown of the best-selling used models for every major body type such as coupes, hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs, and single-cab and double-cab bakkies.

It also contains aggregated data for the average price and mileage that cars within these categories typically sell for, which you can see in the table below:

Body Style	Average Mileage	Average Price	Price per mileage
Coupe	65,662km	R1,078,113	R16
Double Cab	82,225km	R500,683	R6
Hatchback	68,305km	R221,908	R3
Sedan	90,037km	R348,552	R4
Single Cab	99,318km	R253,859	R3
SUV	66,443km	R499,118	R8

Coupes stand out as by far the most expensive of the group, which isn’t surprising considering it is also the most niche category – populated by sporty two-door models from premium brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche.

Interestingly, double cabs and SUVs were retailing for roughly the same price in the first half of 2024, which may be due to the fact that a few of South Africa’s favourite SUVs like the Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest, and Isuzu mu-X are actually built on the same platform as their bakkie counterparts, namely the Hilux, Ranger, and D-Max.

On the other end of the spectrum, hatchbacks are still the most affordable body style on offer, making them an important option for motorists shopping on a strict budget.

As for their mileages, single cabs peaked at just shy of 100,000km, another logical figure given their work-horse nature, but sedans weren’t very far behind at 90,000km.

A big reason for this is due to the popularity of units like the Mercedes C-Class and BMW 3 Series, which are still an aspirational purchase for many South Africans.

However, due to the skyrocketing prices of the latest models, buyers are instead turning to the pre-owned sector to get their hands on one, even if it means picking one up with a big number on the odometer.