At least 22 online car searches are conducted in South Africa every second, and this is borne out by the more than 349-million online car searches made on South Africa’s largest motoring marketplace, AutoTrader, in the first half of 2022.
The newly released 2022 AutoTrader Mid-Year Industry Report also shows a strong shift in car shopper preferences, among these a rising interest in electric vehicles (EVs).
The report, which covers the period January to June 2022, reveals a 134% year-on-year increase in EV searches.
The Audi RS E-Tron GT was the top-searched and top-viewed EV.
“The significant . . . investment into the production of the first generation of hybrid EVs in South Africa has been an important and necessary step towards futureproofing South Africa’s auto industry,” states AutoTrader CEO George Mienie.
Toyota and Mercedes-Benz both produce hybrid EVs at their local plants.
The newest AutoTrader report also shows heightened car-shopper interest in the brands that have a manufacturing presence in the country.
In the first six months of the year, the top three most enquired on brands were Toyota, Volkswagen (VW) and BMW, generating more than 40.9% of all consumer enquiries.
VW was the most searched-for brand, bumping BMW into second position for the period under review. The VW Golf GTI also continues to be the most searched-for variant.
The Toyota Hilux was the most searched for, and most enquired on, model.
The three most listed used models were the VW Polo, Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger.
The AutoTrader report also reveals that the domestic used-car market remains on fire, with a 9% increase in average used-car prices year-on-year (R389 145 to R423 964).
There was also a 2% increase in average used-car mileage year-on-year (75 830 km to 77 147 km).