SA’s used car market stays strong despite shifting trends

According to the latest data from AutoTrader, used car sales in South Africa are looking positive. February 2025 posted superior year-on-year (YoY) sales and only a minor decline in monthly sales despite fewer business days.

Even though January typically sees strong performance—owing to various incentives and discounts offered by dealerships—February 2025 put on a good show, with 28,885 used vehicles sold, representing a +0.8% YoY increase and a -6.7% month-on-month (MoM) decrease.

Most popular used car models

The perennial Ford Ranger remains undefeated, maintaining its top position in the used car market.

The top six best-selling vehicles have retained their rankings from last month, with some shifts occurring between the seventh and tenth spots.

Compared to January 2025, the Nissan NP200 has moved up two places to seventh, while the Toyota Starlet now sits in ninth, one spot higher than last month.

While the Mercedes-Benz C-Class remains in the top 10, more affordable vehicles are pushing the German sedan out. It finished in tenth place in February 2025—down from eighth last month and sixth a year ago.

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The Isuzu D-Max has also shifted slightly, dropping from seventh to eighth. The Starlet’s strong performance is particularly notable, as just a year ago, it ranked only 17th among South Africa’s best-selling used cars.

The combined value of used vehicles sold in February 2025 mirrors the sales growth, with a YoY increase and a minor MoM decline.

The accumulative value reached R12.02bn; +3.7% higher than February 2024 (R11.60bn) and -4.46% lower than January 2025 (R12.59bn).

Interestingly, the average price of a used car in February 2025 was higher at R416,483, representing a R9,790 MoM increase and a notable R11,578 YoY increase.

Most popular used car brands

Toyota remains the most popular brand in the used car market, followed by Volkswagen and Ford in second and third place, respectively. With 5,099 used cars sold in February 2025, the Japanese brand has seen a +6% yearly increase and a -4% monthly decline.

Volkswagen, which saw 4,004 used vehicle sales, saw minor YoY growth of +1% but a MoM decline of -9%. Ford recorded 3,076 used sales last month, with the biggest monthly decline of -12%.

While all brands within the top 10 experienced a monthly decline—owing to February being a shorter month—it’s worth noting that Kia saw a significant decrease at -16%.

Over a year, the Korean automaker slipped -17% compared to February 2024. Comparatively, Suzuki (sixth) and Hyundai (fourth) have seen YoY growth of +20% and +10%, respectively.