Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux drive surge in SA's used car sales
According to AutoTrader data, 30,742 used vehicles were sold in December 2025, down 8.77% from November’s 33,697 units but 16.34% higher than December 2024, when 26,424 vehicles were sold.
The total value of used vehicle sales reached R12.89bn for the month, a 19.46% increase year on year, although down 6.93% from November’s R13.85bn. The average transaction price rose to R419,537, up from R411,084 in November and R408,516 a year earlier.
Ranger and Hilux continue to dominate
The Ford Ranger retained its position as South Africa’s best-selling used vehicle, with 1,744 units sold in December, up 6.28% year on year despite a slight decline from November’s 1,952 units. The Toyota Hilux followed with 1,312 sales, recording stronger year-on-year growth of 7.54%.
Volkswagen’s Polo Vivo and Polo continued to trade places in the rankings, with the Vivo narrowly taking third spot in December on 1,262 units, just one ahead of the Polo at 1,261. The Toyota Fortuner completed the top five with 622 sales, although it was the only model in the top five to record a small year-on-year decline.
Crossovers and budget hatchbacks continued to gain ground. The Suzuki Swift climbed to sixth place after a 39.77% year-on-year increase, while the Hyundai Grand i10 recorded the strongest growth among the top 10, rising 95.35% year on year to take eighth place.
Notably, the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, once regular top-10 performers, fell out of the rankings in December as buyers favoured more affordable and practical vehicles.
Toyota leads brands, Hyundai and Suzuki grow fastest
Toyota remained the strongest used car brand, selling 5,039 vehicles in December, down 12.23% month on month but up 11.14% year on year. Volkswagen followed with 4,299 units, while Ford ranked third.
Further down the table, Hyundai and Suzuki posted the strongest annual growth, with sales up 52.59% and 48.09% respectively. Kia and Renault also recorded solid increases, while Mercedes-Benz saw a 7.37% decline. Nissan was largely flat and BMW recorded more modest growth.
Market remains resilient
AutoTrader CEO George Mienie said the late-year slowdown was expected after two very strong months.
“After two very strong months, it’s not surprising to see sales ease slightly in December,” said Mienie. “What really stands out is the year-on-year growth. Volumes are up, the total value of used cars sold is higher, and demand for popular models like bakkies and hatchbacks remains strong. It’s a solid way to end the year and points to a used car market that stayed resilient throughout 2025.”
Average mileage of used vehicles sold in December increased slightly to 72,433km, compared to 72,329km in November, while remaining lower than December 2024’s 75,779km.
By variant, the Polo Vivo 1.4 was the top-selling used model with 969 units, followed by the Polo 1.0 TSI (824), Hilux 2.8 GD-6 (554), Ranger XL (536) and Hilux 2.4 GD-6 (449).
Bakkies and compact hatchbacks continued to dominate the market, reinforcing the shift towards value-driven, multi-purpose vehicles among South African used car buyers.