The Toyota Yaris was the fastest-selling used-vehicle in South Africa from February 1 to March 31, 2020, at 18 days, says online trading platform AutoTrader.

This data is derived from AutoTrader’s Used Car Rate of Sale, a metric used to extract insight from AutoTrader’s vehicle taxonomy database. 

“The Used Car Rate of Sale indicator provides deep insight, in real time, into which vehicles South Africans are purchasing the fastest,” says AutoTrader CEO George Mienie.

“This is of particular value to dealers as they look to manage their liquidity better – cars that sell faster are a safer option in which to invest. 

“It is equally useful for consumers when they are buying their next car, as it will give peace of mind that they can sell the car quickly if they need to free up money,” adds Mienie.

Yet another Toyota vehicle – the Corolla Quest – is in second place. 

The third fastest-selling used-vehicle in South Africa is the Ford Fiesta.

This list is in stark contrast to the top-selling new vehicles in South Africa in 2019 – the Hilux, Polo Vivo and Ford Ranger – and also the top-selling used-vehicles in South Africa in 2019, namely the Volkswagen Polo, Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Polo Vivo.

The reason for the difference in ranking between the cars that sold the fastest, and the cars that sold the most, is because of age and, subsequently, price, says AutoTrader.

“Both lists feature roughly the same models – just ordered differently,” notes Mienie.

“For those cars selling the fastest, consumers are opting to buy a newer car from a more affordable category, rather than an older car from a more luxurious category. 

“These cars are typically only three years old, and come with low mileage too. For example, the fastest-selling used car – the Yaris – is also the car with the lowest average mileage, at 26 253 km.”

In contrast, three of the vehicles on the list – the Ford Ranger, Isuzu KB and Toyota Hilux – feature the highest average mileages. 

“This indicates that, with bakkies, buyers don’t mind a slightly higher mileage than with a passenger car,” says Mienie.

Interestingly the Toyota Fortuner and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which are both regularly featured in the top-selling used-car lists, did not feature in the top 15 of the  Used Car Rate of Sale list, taking two more days on average to sell than last car on the list, namely the Toyota Hilux, which sells at a rate of 23 days.

The Used Car Rate of Sale ranking is based on an analysis of AutoTrader data. 

Given the fact that AutoTrader is the largest motoring marketplace in South Africa, with an 85% market share, the company believes it serves as a sound industry proxy for automotive markets demand, supply and pricing.