Black Friday motoring: Car dealers slash prices to boost industry

The automotive industry is going all out this Black Friday by offering buyers savings of up to R327,374 on a single car.

Car savings this Black Friday are set to match those of 2019, when in-market car shoppers also took advantage of big discounts. The average price of a car offered on Black Friday has gone from R580,856 in 2019 to R524,763 in 2020, giving shoppers a further average saving of 10%, according to South African digital automotive marketplace Autotrader. 

Black Friday to help drive industry recovery

According to AutoTrader CEO George Mienie, the industry looks to be pulling out all the stops to offer good deals.

“The national lockdown has meant 2020 has been a challenging year for the industry and consumers alike. For instance, new car sales have declined by 32,5% on a year-to-date basis (as at end of October).

“But 2020 hasn’t been without some silver linings – and Black Friday is undoubtedly one of those.

“There was some concern that, with the declining new car sales, there could be fewer trade-ins and thus less used car stock. However, this certainly hasn’t materialised,” Mienie said.

“Stock is plentiful. So too are very good deals this Black Friday.”

While discounts are offered across the board, the biggest savings can be experienced on luxury models.

For instance, the R327,374 saving is being offered on a 2020 Range Rover Sport SVR. This deal represents the greatest saving on a sport utility vehicle (SUV) this Black Friday.

There’s also a 2020 Jaguar F-Type Coupé P380 R-Dynamic Auto up for grabs at a saving of R307,273 — the coupé offering the largest saving this Black Friday.

Biggest discounts are on luxury cars

The F-Type is but one of a number of spectacular sports cars that are being offered at drastically discounted prices this Black Friday. Other examples include a 2018 BMW M5 (R251,000 saving) and a 2020 Ford Mustang 2.3T Fastback (R180,000 saving). The M5 represents the sedan with the greatest saving this Black Friday.

It is also interesting to see that substantial discounts are being offered on “nearly new” cars (those with a 2019 registration year). One example is a 2019 Mercedes-AMG C-Class C43 4Matic, which has had R150,000 shaved off its price tag.

But not just luxury cars are on offer

Not only luxury cars are on offer this Black Friday. For instance, there is a 2020 Polo Hatch 1.0TSI Comfortline Hatchback listed at a substantial saving of R45,100.

The biggest saving on a double cab this Black Friday is R150,000 (on a 2020 Nissan Navara 2.3D Double Cab Stealth Auto).

The hatchback offering the best deal is a 2020 Mercedes-Benz A45 S Hatch 4Matic Plus (discounted by R50,000) and a 2020 Isuzu D-Max 250C Fleetside, which has had R25,000 shaved off its price, representing the biggest saving on a single cab.