New car sales may be reaching worrying levels for the South African car industry, but the pre-owned market continues to persevere in these tough times, recording a phenomenal R39.1 billion in sales in the third quarter of 2023 alone.
This is according to AutoTrader’s most recent used car sales data, which reported that the used vehicle sector experienced year-on-year growth in the last financial quarter.
However, despite this overall success, September actually saw the first dip in used-car sales in the last three months, dropping from 34,725 in August to 31,636 units last month.
This works out to a month-on-month decline of 9%, meaning that vehicle sales on the used market shrank from August’s figure of over R14 billion to R12.7 billion in September.
Consequently, all of South Africa’s most popular second-hand vehicles saw a drop off in sales, though the brands and models being sought have not changed much.
Toyota, VW, and Ford are still the most-desired badges, followed by BMW, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Kia, and Audi. Of these nameplates, Kia was the only one to report a positive month-on-month growth of 8.6%.
Suzuki also saw renewed interest, rejoining the list of top 10 brands by knocking Renault off the podium, according to AutoTrader.
As for the cars themselves, most models had a dip in sales with the notable exception of the Kia Picanto, and the Jeep Wrangler – the latter of which is notable given that Jeep doesn’t tend to be one of the major volume movers on South Africa’s new market.
In search of a bargain
These were the most popular pre-owned cars people bought in South Africa in September 2023.
Ford Ranger – 1,713 units
- Average price – R460,042
- Average mileage – 80,245km
- Average age – 4 years old
VW Polo – 1,441 units
- Average price – R260,828
- Average mileage – 64,242km
- Average age – 4 years old
Toyota Hilux – 1,391 units
- Average price – R445,642
- Average mileage – 111,279km
- Average age – 5 years old
VW Polo Vivo – 926 units
- Average price – R188,548
- Average mileage – 66,870km
- Average age – 4 years old
Toyota Fortuner – 803 units
- Average price – R459,762
- Average mileage – 102,484km
- Average age – 5 years old
Jeep Wrangler – 714 units
- Average price – R474,399
- Average mileage – 125,420km
- Average age – 9 years old
Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 652 units
- Average price – R426,807
- Average mileage – 102,144km
- Average age – 7 years old
BMW 3 Series – 564 units
- Average price – R365,912
- Average mileage – 104,512km
- Average age – 7 years old
Ford EcoSport – 485 units
- Average price – R242,698
- Average mileage – 55,599km
- Average age – 3 years old
Kia Picanto – 423 units
- Average price – R170,518
- Average mileage – 40,806km
- Average age – 3 years old
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