Ford Ranger bakkie dominates model rankings as South Africa's used car sales soar

While a lot of attention is focused on monthly new car sales, which have been showing a steady monthly upward trend, so too has the used vehicle market been showing year-on-year (YoY) and month-on-month growth (MoM), reflecting the continued trend of renewed consumer confidence.

Minor shifts

The top five best-selling used vehicles remain unchanged, but the bottom half of the top 10 has shown several minor shifts, indicating a change in the mindset of South African used car buyers.

Based on the latest sales data from AutoTrader, 33,919 used vehicles were sold in July 2025, representing YoY and MoM increases of 7% and 9.4%, respectively.

This makes last month the strongest sales period for 2025 so far, with a consistent rise over the past few months. In June, 31,008 sales were recorded, compared to 31,741 in May.

Toyota leads

As expected, Toyota retained its first-place ranking of the most popular used car brands in July, with 5,878 used cars sold last month. The Japanese automaker also recorded the biggest MoM increase of 13%, while YoY sales rose by 7%. 

Volkswagen followed in second place with 4,638 sales, posting smaller but steady gains of 7% MoM and 5% YoY. Ford secured third position with 3,604 sales, showing a MoM increase of 12% and a modest 3% YoY rise.

Hyundai delivered the strongest growth overall, with a YoY surge of 49% and 2,416 sales in July. Suzuki also performed well, recording a 41% YoY increase. 

However, premium marques BMW and Mercedes-Benz saw declines of 2% and 12% YoY, respectively, while Nissan, Renault and Kia also posted YoY decreases.

Ranger stays tops

Ford tops the charts on a model level, with 2,025 Rangers sold last month, a YoY increase of 6.4%. The Ranger not only accounts for 56% of all Ford sales, but also outsold its closest rival, the Toyota Hilux, by 389 units.

The Hilux recorded 1,636 sales, followed by the Polo (1,400), Polo Vivo (1,322) and Toyota Fortuner (815).

Once-regular entries like the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class are absent, replaced by smaller, more affordable crossovers and hatchbacks. 

The Suzuki Swift recorded a 34.5% YoY increase, while the Hyundai Grand i10 experienced the strongest growth of all, with sales surging by 116.7% YoY. 

Other popular models include the Toyota Starlet and Corolla Cross, reflecting a growing preference for practical, fuel-efficient hatchbacks and crossovers. 

It is worth noting that seven of the top 10 most-sold models are manufactured in South Africa.

Best-selling variant

The title of the best-selling variant belongs to the Polo Vivo 1.4. 1,037 examples were sold in July, making up 78.4% of all Polo Vivo sales. It is followed by the Polo 1.0 TSI (879), the Hilux 2.8 GD-6 (723), the Ranger XL (664), and the Hilux 2.4 GD-6 (555). 

Key figures

The cumulative value of used cars reached R14.10 billion, representing an MoM increase of 8.67% from June 2025 (R12.98 billion). 

The average price of a used vehicle was R415,983, down from R418,770 in July 2025, but higher than the average of R409,238 in July 2024.

The average mileage has fallen from 75,227 km in July 2024 to 73,579 km in July 2025.