Used car sales rise 14% month-on-month.

• Consumer confidence rose in July, evidenced by an uptick in both new and used car sales. 
• Contrary to popular belief, an increase in new car sales IS good news for the used car market. 

“The increase in new car passenger sales indicates that consumers are in a better financial position. What’s more, new car sales fuel future used car sales and newer vehicles feeding car parc growth,” explains AutoTrader CEO George Mienie.

Used car sales rose an encouraging 14% month-on-month, according to AutoTrader data. The 31,707 units sold in July (nearly 4,000 more than in June) realised a total value just shy of R13 billion. In July, the average price of a used car rose slightly by 0.4% to R409,238. On average, that buys a 5 year-old car with mileage of 75,227 km.

There’s not an awful lot that one can bet on with a huge amount of certainty these days. But betting on Toyota leading sales in the used car market and the Ford Ranger bakkie heading up model sales is pretty much a sure thing. And brands Volkswagen and Ford are more than likely to remain unchallenged in their second and third sales spots while the Toyota Hilux bakkie and popular hatch VW Polo will doubtless continue their grip on sales behind the Ranger. 

In July, Toyota managed to achieve a 17% increase in month-on-month used car sales with a total of 5,490 units sold. In the model category, the Ford Ranger achieved a 21% increase in sales with 1,903 units moving through the AutoTrader platform for an average price of R464,598 for 5 year old models with an average of 80,767 kms. 

The VW Polo Vivo 1.4 and stablemate VW Polo 1.0TSI meanwhile continue to battle it out for overall variant supremacy. 

Kia was the only brand in the top ten to post a drop (-13%) in monthly used car sales. And there was one new entrant among the top-selling models; the Isuzu D-Max climbed from 14th position in June to 10th spot after the bakkie posted a 30% increase in monthly sales. 

In conclusion, this effectively summarises the used car market for July.

But as an aside, there is something that is perhaps worthy of reflection. And that is the lack of SUVs in the top ten most sold models. Routinely, only one large family-sized SUV - the locally-produced Toyota Fortuner - makes an appearance. Otherwise, the top ten is all about bakkies, hatches and two luxury but ageing sedans. 

Top 10 Sold Models in July 2024

Source: AutoTrader Used Car Sales Data: 1 - 31 July 2024