South Africa’s used car market: Top 10 best-selling models of 2023

South Africans gravitated towards buying second-hand vehicles in 2023 at an alarming rate. We take a look at South Africa’s used car market and the top 10 best-selling models of 2023.

There were various reasons for this, chief among which is the increased cost of living and high-interest rates.

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SOUTH AFRICA’S USED CAR MARKET IN 2023 SAW SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH

According to AutoTrader data, last year saw the number of used cars sold rise by 4.6% year-on-year. Overall, 367 075 used cars with an average selling price of R399 163 were sold.

Sales of an additional 17,000-odd units in 2023 and increased average selling price helped drive up the total value of used cars sold by 7.7% year-on-year. Amounting to a whopping R146.5 billion, 2023’s figure outperformed the previous year’s by some R10.5 billion. 

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SA NEW CAR SALES DECLINED ONCE AGAIN IN 2023

Earlier this month, we reported that the December 2023 sales figures showed a fifth consecutive month of year-on-year decline during December.

Aggregate industry new vehicle sales of 40 329 units reflected a shrinkage of 3.3%, which translated to 1392 fewer vehicles being sold when compared to the corresponding month in 2022, according to Motorpress.

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SUZUKI SHINES BRIGHT IN SOUTH AFRICA’S USED CAR MARKET

“Suzuki was the star of the brand used sales growth show, posting the biggest year-on-year growth of 28.8%. Kia too was in the driver’s seat with growth of 16.6%,”  says AutoTrader CEO George Mienie.

Ranked by most sold	Most Sold Models	Used Car Sales	Average Price	Average Mileage	Average Age
1	Ford Ranger	20 156	R444,020	86,206	5 years old
2	Toyota Hilux	17 555	R453,621	104,125	6 years old
3	Volkswagen Polo	16 140	R263,120	65,495	5 years old
4	Volkswagen Polo Vivo	10 990	R192,989	63,236	5 years old
5	Toyota Fortuner	9 169	R461,943	103,691	6 years old
6	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	7 850	R438,692	95,956	8 years old
7	BMW 3 Series	6 855	R372,799	101,209	8 years old
8	Ford EcoSport	6 032	R242,056	57,116	5 years old
9	Nissan NP200	4 506	R168,833	81,542	5 years old
10	KIA Picanto	4 460	R168,318	45,386	4 years old

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