The iconic Volkswagen Polo – a modern-day legend when it comes to car sales in South Africa, has been dethroned by the mighty Ford Ranger.
According to George Mienie, AutoTrader CEO, the Ford bakkie was the top-selling used vehicle in South Africa during the second half of 2019. “We have just released the next iteration of our Car Industry Report covering the period 1 July to 31 December 2019, and this is one of the most notable facts to have surfaced” he notes.
The Volkswagen Polo is, after all, a vehicle that clocks up one sales achievement after the other. “It’s automatically assumed that the Polo will be the top seller in the used car market in South Africa because, quite honestly, it usually is. But now our data shows the number one spot for this period has been taken by the Ranger,” he notes.
According to Mienie, the average purchase price for a Ranger during the period under review was R301 972, with an average mileage of 84 867 km and an average year model of 2015.
Mienie notes that it’s interesting to see that the Ranger outsold the Hilux in the used vehicle market. “The Toyota dominates new vehicle sales – year after year. But used vehicle buyers definitely favour the Ranger. So too did the judges of the 2020 International Pickup Award; they rated the Ranger tops. The judges were impressed by the Ranger’s powertrain efficiencies, load volume and capability, driver and passenger comfort and safety. These attributes clearly impress South African motorists too,” he comments.
While it was the number one choice of used vehicle buyers in South Africa in the second half of 2019, the Ranger has long been popular. In the last annual report covering the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019, the Ford Ranger was the third most sold vehicle – with an average price of R288 990, average year model of 2015 and an average mileage of 88 835 km.
The Volkswagen Polo didn’t exactly fall off the radar though. “It sold the second-highest number of models in the six months ending December 2019,” reveals Mienie. The average price paid for a used Polo was R206 152 while the average year of registration was 2016 and the average mileage was 57 746 km.
The Polo was followed home by yet another product from the Volkswagen stable. “In third place was the Volkswagen Polo Vivo, with an average selling price of R158 952, an average year model of 2016 and average mileage of 49 810 km,” Mienie reveals.
To download the full report, visit reports.autotrader.co.za/industry
