JOHANNESBURG – The latest used car sales data from AutoTrader shows sustained year-on-year growth in June 2026, despite a slight decline in month-on-month sales.
The first half of 2026 was a good year for the used car industry, with sales consistently higher than last year.
In June 2026, a total of 31,363 used cars were sold through AutoTrader. This is an increase of 1.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) compared to June 2025, when 31,008 used cars were sold.
A 2.7% month-on-month decrease was recorded compared to May 2026, when 32,224 used cars were sold through South Africa's largest car market.
Toyota maintained its position as South Africa's best performing brand in the used car market with 5,352 vehicles sold.
Despite the slowdown in overall sales from the previous month, Toyota's used car sales increased from 5,275 units in May 2026 to 5,352 units in June, an increase of 1% month-on-month and 3% year-on-year.
Volkswagen came in second with 4,100 units sold, down 3% month-on-month and 5% year-on-year, followed by Ford with 3,107 units sold, down 2% month-on-month and 3% year-on-year.
When it comes to best-selling models, the Ford Ranger remains king.
The Silverton-built bakkie was South Africa's most popular used car last month with 1,823 used cars sold on AutoTrader, although the increase was modest at 0.6% year-on-year.
The Ranger's closest rival, the Toyota Hilux, is in second place, 413 cars behind the Ranger.
A total of 1,410 used cars were sold last month, with sales down 2.8% year-on-year, moving it away from the Ranger's crown, but it didn't stop the Hilux from continuing to outrank the Polo Vivo and Polo.
In June 2026, Volkswagen's most affordable product, the Polo Vivo, overtook its more luxurious sibling, the Polo, to claim a spot on the used car sales podium.
The former number was 1,110 units, down 12% from the previous year, and the latter was 1,091 units, down 12.5% from the previous year.
Autotrader CEO George Meany said: “June's used car sales data shows that the market remains resilient despite increased consumer choice.”
“The best performing vehicles continue to be those that offer a clear balance of practicality, value and manageable running costs.
“While established favorites such as the Ranger, Hilux, Polo Vivo and Polo continue to dominate, the move towards the bottom of the pecking order shows how important affordability and efficiency are playing in purchasing decisions.”
Although the top four positions remain the same from month to month, the trends occurring in the bottom half of the table are much more interesting.
The Toyota Fortuner may have moved up one place after dropping from fifth to seventh last month, but the family SUV's status remains under pressure from the humble Hyundai Grand i10, Suzuki Swift and Toyota Corolla Cross.
A sign of high fuel costs is that the Toyota Fortuner, which regularly ranks in fifth place, has not fully recovered and is currently trailing behind the Suzuki Swift, which occupies fifth place.
Although the Fortuner slipped to seventh place earlier this month, it still sold 707 units, an astonishing 2.6% year-on-year sales increase.
Still, the affordable Swift managed 758 units and achieved a whopping 29.8% year-on-year sales growth.
Although this is a strong performance for the small Suzuki, the Corolla Cross has shown the greatest growth over the past year, with sales increasing by 33.4% to 583 units in June 2026.
This can be attributed to the fact that buyers who previously considered the Fortuner are now looking at the more compact and affordable Corolla Cross.
The availability of hybrid derivatives may also contribute to its appeal, especially as the Corolla Cross remains one of the more available new energy vehicles in South Africa.
In terms of variants, the Polo Vivo 1.4 remains the most popular used car in South Africa, with 851 units sold in June 2026.
The Polo 1.0 TSI came in second with 683 units, followed by three bakkie derivatives: Hilux 2.8 GD-6 with 595 units, Ranger XL with 524 units and Hilux 2.4 GD-6 with 491 units.
The average price of a used car purchased through AutoTrader in June 2026 was R4,23 080, up from R4,15 652 in May 2026 and R4,18 770 in June 2025.
This represents a 1.8% month-over-month increase and a 1.0% year-over-year increase.
The average mileage recorded in June 2026 was 71,419km.
This compares to 70,538 km in May 2026 and 74,245 km in June 2025.
