In 2023, Toyota took top position as South Africa’s most sold used-car brand with 60 296 units changing hands, while the Ford Ranger reigned supreme as the country's most sold used model, at 20 156 units.
This is according to the 2023 AutoTrader Car Industry Report, released this week.
The report shows that online car-buying is a phenomenon that continues to gain traction in South Africa.
Since 2019, visits to the AutoTrader site have increased by 97%, while the number of in-market car shoppers has already grown by 11% this year.
The website generated more than 127-million visits in total in 2023, with more than 467-million online car searches conducted.
The newest report also shows that the average selling price decreased by 7.6% to R399 163 in 2023, down from R432 407 in 2022, as cash-strapped South African consumers continued to seek out cheaper mobility options.
The average mileage on the clock recorded a slight upturn – from 75 939 km in 2022, to 77 783 km in 2023.
Search data on AutoTrader is regarded as an indicator of the popularity of a brand and/or model – and Volkswagen, and specifically the Volkswagen Golf, came up trumps in this regard.
The former was the most searched-for brand, while the latter was the most searched-for model.
AutoTrader says advert view data indicates the interest in one car or brand over another – and here, BMW was the most viewed brand.
The Volkswagen Polo was the most viewed model, kicking last year's most viewed model, the Toyota Hilux, into fifth place.
Finally, enquiry data points to the brand or the car consumers will most likely buy, and here South Africans spoke with one voice – the most enquired brand was Toyota.
On the other hand, South Africa’s favourite bakkie, the Toyota Hilux, was replaced by the Volkswagen Polo as the most enquired model.