While new car sales in South Africa remain under pressure – and, depending on December sales, may not return to pre-pandemic levels this year – the used car market certainly isn’t in the doldrums.
According to the used car sales data supplied by AutoTrader, a total of 32,300 used cars moved through AutoTraders platform in November 2023, a 6.6% increase over the 30,286 cars sold in November 2022¹. In stark comparison, according to naamsa | The Automotive Business Council, 29,384 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa during November 2023 – a significant decline of 4,052 cars – or a 12.1% reduction versus the new cars sold in November 2022.
The used market is also outperforming its new counterpart when one looks at sales through the AutoTrader platform year-to-date. 340,229 used cars were sold in November 2023 year-to-date while 325,838 used cars were sold in 2022 year-to-date – an increase of 4.4%. On the other hand, a total 320,272 new cars were sold (November 2023 year-to-date) versus 334 956 (November 2022 year-to-date) – a decline of 4.4%.
The accumulated value of used cars that moved through the AutoTrader platform in November 2023 was R13 billion – an impressive 8.3% more than the R12 billion in November 2022.
South African motorists have their favourite new and used cars – and they’re not changing their opinions from one month to the next. The top-selling new passenger cars in South Africa last month – once again – were the Volkswagen Polo Vivo, Toyota Corolla Cross and Toyota Starlet. In contrast, the top-selling used cars in South Africa last month – yet again – were the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen Polo.
The average value of new cars financed rose by 0.7% from R399,418 in November 2022 to R402,387 in November 2023². Used car values increased too – from R399,172 in November 2022 to R405,226 in November 2023. The average mileage of sold used cars in November 2022 was 78,413 km and the average age of registration was 6 years old. One year later, that changed to 74,516 km and 4 years old respectively.
George Mienie, AutoTrader CEO, notes that the two major Korean players in the market had a good November.
“Hyundai and Kia both improved their rankings when it came to the most sold used cars in South Africa last month. Hyundai moved from sixth to fifth spot (displacing Mercedes-Benz) while Kia moved from eighth to seventh, displacing Nissan. It was business as usual for Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford – who occupied the three podium spots once again. It will be interesting to see if they achieve the same in the final month of the year,” he concludes.
Source:
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AutoTrader Used Car Sales Data
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Wesbank Car Finance Data
