Toyota was the most sought-after car brand on the pre-owned market in South Africa in 2023, selling more than 60,000 units in the 12 months from January to December, according to AutoTrader’s latest Annual Car Industry Report.
However, while Toyota was the best-selling brand in the country, it didn’t have the number one car.
That honour goes to the Ford Ranger, which managed to rack up 20,156 sales on the second-hand market last year, putting it roughly 2,500 units ahead of the second-best-seller, the Toyota Hilux.
Even though Ford had the most popular car, it was still only the third best-performing brand overall as VW was able to grab second place on the back of its Polo and Polo Vivo hatchbacks.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz were then able to claim fourth and fifth place, respectively, thanks to their well-regarded sedans like the 3 Series and C-Class.
You can see a full breakdown of the top 10 best-selling car brands on the used-car market in South Africa in 2023 in the table below:
| Brand | Units sold | Average Price | Average Mileage | Average Year |
| Toyota | 60,296 | R413,050 | 85,126km | 2018 |
| VW | 50,340 | R321,022 | 63,736km | 2018 |
| Ford | 40,183 | R364,036 | 84,994km | 2018 |
| BMW | 24,821 | R566,445 | 63,754km | 2017 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 21,019 | R557,470 | 91,429km | 2016 |
| Hyundai | 20,630 | R257,544 | 77,830km | 2018 |
| Nissan | 17,120 | R254,896 | 83,814km | 2018 |
| Kia | 13,446 | R253,959 | 57,032km | 2019 |
| Suzuki | 12,811 | R216,028 | 35,347km | 2021 |
| Audi | 12,764 | R476,838 | 84,137km | 2017 |
The second-hand market has seen an explosion in popularity in recent years, with AutoTrader reporting a 97% increase in its site traffic since 2019.
In 2023 alone, the online trader saw 127 million unique site visitors, 467 million car searches, 304 million advert views, and 830 million separate pages opened.
The average price of a car listing over this period actually decreased year on year by 7.6% to reach R399,163 in 2023, compared to R432,407 in 2022, though the average mileage increased slightly from 75,939km to 77,783km.
New-energy vehicles, including hybrids and battery-electrics, saw a 132% jump in sales, which AutoTrader attributes to advancements in battery technology and general affordability as new models enter the market at more affordable prices.
Pre-owned bargains
Out of all the activity on AutoTrader in 2023, these were the 10 most popular pre-owned cars that South Africans purchased:
Ford Ranger – 20,156 units
- Average price – R444,020
- Average mileage – 86,206km
- Average model year – 2019
Toyota Hilux – 17,555 units
- Average price – R453,621
- Average mileage – 104,125km
- Average model year – 2018
VW Polo – 16,140 units
- Average price – R263,120
- Average mileage – 65,495km
- Average model year – 2019
VW Polo Vivo – 10,990 units
- Average price – R192,989
- Average mileage – 63,236km
- Average model year – 2019
Toyota Fortuner – 9,169 units
- Average price – R461,943
- Average mileage – 103,691km
- Average model year – 2018
Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 7,850 units
- Average price – R438,692
- Average mileage – 95,956km
- Average model year – 2016
BMW 3 Series – 6,855 units
- Average price – R372,799
- Average mileage – 101,209km
- Average model year – 2016
Ford EcoSport – 6,032 units
- Average price – R242,056
- Average mileage – 57,116km
- Average model year – 2019
Nissan NP200 – 4,506 units
- Average price – R168,833
- Average mileage – 81,542km
- Average model year – 2019
Kia Picanto – 4,460 units
- Average price – R168,318
- Average mileage – 45,386km
- Average model year – 2020
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