The 2021 AutoTrader Car Industry Report reveals that electric vehicles (EVs) and BMWs have soared in popularity.

The report, covering the period from January to December, shows that searches for EVs surged by 110%, to half-a-million last year, while BMW received eight-million more consumer advert views in 2021.

The report also shows that average car prices were still, on average, more expensive than the previous year, but lower than the price seen in the first half of 2021, indicating a slow return to stabilisation as a result of macroeconomic impacts to the market, notes the report.

On average, the price of vehicles in 2021 was R374 149, with an average mileage of 75 413 km.

In 2021, more than 1.3-million unique listings were loaded on AutoTrader, with August accounting for the largest stock count in the year. 

Year-on-year there was a 0.8% decrease in available stock.

“Following a challenging 2020, which saw the automotive market grinding to a virtual halt, 2021 was a year that forced us to evolve and find products and services that met the change car shoppers were experiencing,” says AutoTrader CEO George Mienie.

“[This year] is, therefore, a year to switch on new ways of thinking and operating within the local automotive landscape. 

“It was a year, however, that didn’t only see new ways of thinking; it also saw increased activity in the marketplace,” notes Mienie.

“In 2021, more than 637-million total searches were conducted on AutoTrader, a record high, representing a growth of 28% year-on-year. 

“This translates into over 20 consumer searches per second.”

While the 2021 AutoTrader Car Industry Report shows that consumers are researching more brands than ever before, they continue to be brand loyal. 

The five most searched for brands – BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Audi – remained the same in 2021, changing only in rank. 

BMW was once again the brand with the most consumer advert views. However, the popularity of the brand soared last year. It received 43.9-million views – just under 8-million more than the same period a year ago.

“Consumer advert views remain one of the key leading performance indicators for car dealers, as they are definitive precursors to an actual enquiry (lead) on the car,” says Mienie.

“But the process has to be fast; international studies focusing on the automotive digital retail market have revealed that car sellers have roughly 15 seconds to grab the attention of a car buyer on a consumer advert view.”

Another important change compared with 2020 can be seen when examining the most viewed variants.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI has historically been the most viewed variant and remains the top searched variant in 2021 with more than 3.2-million searches. 

But, early in 2021, and for a short period, this changed to the Toyota Hilux 2.8GD-6, and the GTI ranked second. 

The most searched for model last year (4.3% of all searches), was the Toyota Hilux, accounting for 22.8-million searches.

Yet another important variation in 2021 versus 2020 was the increased number of searches for EVs. 

In total, more than 540 000 EV searches were conducted in 2021, indicating an increase of over 110% year-on-year. 

As more EVs were introduced into the market, AutoTrader saw searches for the Porsche Taycan increased by over 900% last year, for example, while Jaguar I-Pace searches rose by 62%.