October’s used car movers and shakers

Sales of used cars in October grew 4% month-on-month to 32,839 units. Despite higher sales numbers than September, the total value of used cars sold declined by 1% to R12,66 billion from R12,77 billion in September. The reason? Drop in the average used car selling price.

“While used car sales grew by an additional 1,203 units in October, the average selling price dipped to R385,460 from R403,626 in September, signalling consumer affordability pressures. Increased sales of more affordable models supports this view,” says George Mienie, CEO of AutoTrader.

As in previous months Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford maintained their top three positions as the brands that sold the most vehicles. Back in the top ten was Renault but Audi fell two places and out of the placings. 

There were few changes to the top ten sold models. The Ford Ranger still leads, but in October, Toyota Hilux sales eclipsed those of the VW Polo by 57 units allowing the bakkie to nab second spot from the hatch. No changes though to the three best-selling variants. The VW Polo 1.0 TSI, VW Polo Vivo 1.4 and Toyota Hilux 2.8GD-6 remain ahead of the pack. 

But it was not all a case of the same old same old in October. There were some interesting developments, not least of which was the plight of the Jeep Wrangler. After exponential growth in previous months, the adventure SUV plummeted from 6th to 24th position. Price point and fuel consumption costs biting harder perhaps?

The Suzuki Swift’s month-on-month growth of 13,64% saw the roomy Japanese hatch back in the top ten best-selling models. And it was not the only model to display significant sales growth. Two premium sedans, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series upped their sales by 13.34% and 13.65% respectively.

Older year models with high mileage are no deterrent to Mercedes-Benz and BMW buyers. The models’ continuous presence in the top ten says much about the faith that car buyers have in the build quality, safety and longevity of these two German models. Seven year old models with around 100,000km mileages averaged selling prices of R439,806 and R366,577 respectively. So much for the so-called ‘death of the sedan.’

Top 10 models sold in October

Source: AutoTrader Used Car Sales Data: 1 October – 31 October 2023