South Africa’s used-car market is showing signs of recalibration, rather than a broad-based price decline, says AutoTrader, with new data from the online platform showing that average prices remained higher year-on-year in each of the first four months of 2026.

The average price rose from R415 770 in January, 2025, to R430 165 in January this year, from R426 836 to R439 663 in February, from R428 253 to R439 614 in March, and from R430 373 to R433 318 in April.

AutoTrader’s broader used-car sales data also points to continued market activity.

Used sales on the platform increased from 128 309 units in the first four months of 2025 to 142 663 units in the same period this year, with year-on-year growth recorded in each month from January to April.

One of the clearest shifts in the used-car market is the growing participation of Chinese brands, says Mienie, with AutoTrader data showing that Chinese-brand vehicles are becoming a larger part of the used-car supply and demand, and that they are specifically challenging expectations in the popular sports-utility vehicle and crossover segments.

“Pricing pressure in some parts of the market is not the same as a broad decline in used-car values,” says AutoTrader CEO George Mienie.

“The data shows that average used-car prices are still higher year-on-year, but the market is becoming more competitive.

“What is changing is the mix of vehicles, the value buyers are responding to, and the way dealers need to position stock.”

Chinese-brand used-vehicle sales on AutoTrader rose from 6 314 units in the first four months of 2025 to 10 295 units in the same period in 2026.

Their share of total used-car sales increased from 4.9% to 7.2%, while listings also rose.

Among popular Chinese models, the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, Haval H6, Haval Jolion and Omoda C5 recorded combined used sales of 3 686 units between January and April, compared with 2 459 units over the same period in 2025.

In several high-volume segments, AutoTrader data shows that Chinese models are being compared directly with established rivals on price, age, mileage and specification.

This is changing how buyers assess value in the used-car market, particularly where newer Chinese models are priced below or close to comparable non-Chinese alternatives.

This does not necessarily mean that consumers are spending less, but rather that spending is holding as consumers find more value in higher-specced Chinese vehicles, says AutoTrader.

The Haval Jolion, for example, recorded an average used price of R302 782 in April 2026, compared with R393 328 for the Toyota Corolla Cross.

The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro recorded an average price of R267 234 in April, compared with R317 779 for the Kia Sonet, while the Omoda C5 averaged R345 966 compared with R363 667 for the Mazda CX-30.

AutoTrader notes, however, that its data also shows that this is not simply a case of Chinese vehicles undercutting the used-car market.

In many cases, the Chinese vehicles are newer, or they have lower mileage than established rivals, which means that buyers are weighing vehicle price against age, mileage, specification and perceived value.

In April, the average Chinese-brand used vehicle on AutoTrader had an average registration year of 2024 and average mileage of 28 970 km, compared with an average registration year of 2020 and average mileage of 72 624 km for non-Chinese vehicles.

Over the same month, the average Chinese-brand used-vehicle price was R382 780 compared with R437 172 for non-Chinese vehicles.

“Chinese brands are adding more choice in important segments, and that is changing how consumers assess value,” explains Mienie.