South Africans have expensive tastes in cars

The average motorist in South Africa still aspires to own a car from a luxury brand, despite the ever rising cost of living.

This is evidenced by new data from AutoTrader’s Mid-Year Industry Report, which details the top 10 most-searched-for car brands in the country.

Over 315 million searches were conducted on the vehicle trading platform during a six-month period from January to June 2026, averaging 21 searches per second.

While the report notes that affordability continues to be the main driver of car sales in South Africa, particularly during periods of economic pressure, this is not reflected in the search results for different car brands.

Indeed, half of the brands featured in the top 10 are luxury marques, indicating that there is still a high level of interest for these models.

While searches do not necessarily translate to an intention to buy, they are a sign of what motorists would like to own

Consumers typically begin by searching for a car brand they like, which evidently has a 50/50 chance of being a premium model from an established manufacturer.

From there, the individual will likely see the going rates for such cars before adjusting their expectations and searching for something in their price range.

Case in point is the fact that the most-searched-for brand in South Africa is none other than BMW, even in a year with high interest rates and astronomical fuel prices.

These were the top 10 most-searched car brands on AutoTrader between January and June this year:

Interestingly, BMW actually moved up one tier in the rankings, knocking Volkswagen out of the top spot.

While it is unsurprising to see top-selling brands like VW, Toyota, Ford, Suzuki, and Hyundai in the top 10, it is interesting that the remaining five spots are all filled by more luxurious brands.

This includes BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, and Land Rover, the latter two of which are very exclusive high-end badges.

The prevalence of these brands on a pre-owned car site like AutoTrader indicates that motorists haven’t given up on owning a BMW or a Land Rover despite their multi-million-rand price tags, and that they are looking to the used market in the hopes of finding something they can afford.

Contrast this with the list of the top 10 best-selling car brands, which is as follows:

Land Rover, Audi, and Porsche are gone, as is to be expected, though BMW and Mercedes are still quite popular.

One thing to point out is that Mercedes has the oldest average age and mileage on the list, indicating that consumers are buying 9-year-old models to still be able to afford them.

BMW units have better mileage but are still on the far end of the age spectrum with an average model year of 2019.

Ultimately, the differences between the most-searched and best-selling lists highlight what people in South Africa are interested in owning, versus what they can actually afford, which is why the latter is mainly composed of mass-market brands like Kia, Renault, Hyundai, and Suzuki.

There’s also a notable lack of Chinese carmakers on the list, but given that most of these brands only launched in South Africa in the last two years, it’s too soon for them to show up on the pre-owned market in large numbers.