Chinese cars are rapidly becoming more popular in the pre-owned market in South Africa.
AutoTrader recently published its latest annual Car Industry Report, which showed that searches for Chinese car brands shot up by 112% in 2024.
Changing with the times
The new-car market in South Africa has been experiencing a major shift for a few years now, with more and more people abandoning luxury car brands in favour of more affordable options from India and China.
Unsurprisingly, this trend is starting to be felt in the second-hand space as well, as badges like BMW and Mercedes-Benz are starting to drop out of the best-seller lists.
In their place are new nameplates from Chinese, Indian, and Japanese automakers, which are considerably cheaper, newer, and have lower mileage.
For example, the average Mercedes C-Class sold on AutoTrader last year was seven years old with a odometre reading of 94,888km and a price tag of R445,996.
In sharp contrast to this is the Indian-sourced Suzuki Swift, which is now one of the top 10 most-inquired models on AutoTrader.
In 2024, the average Swift purchased was only two years old with a mileage of 37,068km and a sticker of R189,761.
“The automotive landscape in South Africa is evolving at an unprecedented pace, shaped by shifting consumer priorities and external economic factors,” said George Mienie, AutoTrader CEO.
“While affordability and value for money have always been key considerations, we’re now seeing a stronger emphasis on efficiency and sustainability influencing buying decisions.”
“The rapid rise of Chinese brands reflects this trend, offering well-equipped vehicles at competitive price points.”
AutoTrader noted that Chinese brands are starting to challenge the dominance of established nameplates from Europe, Japan, and Korea.
Searches on the platform for Chinese brands went up by 112% in 2024, with Omoda in particular seeing a 197% jump in interest.
Other Chinese automakers that saw a large year-on-year uptick in searches include:
Last year also saw the introduction of new marques such as Jetour, Jaecoo, and GAC, but there is currently not enough data on these marques to see how popular they are in the pre-owned space.
As for the other brands, it’s important to clarify that these enormous percentage increases are starting from a relatively small base, though it nonetheless shows that motorists are showing an interest in Chinese brands that wasn’t there only a few years prior.
Advert views for Chinese models also went up by 88%, and user inquiries for these cars rose by 183%, signaling a strong intent to purchase.
All of these indicators manifested in a 92% increase in sales for Chinese brands, even while the used car market as a whole experienced a year-on-year decline of 2% in 2024.
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