South Africa’s used vehicle market recorded a modest recovery in September 2026, driven by increases in both month-on-month sales volumes and average selling prices. According to the latest sales data from AutoTrader, Toyota strengthened its position as the country’s leading used car brand, Kia climbed the brand rankings, and the Ford Ranger retained its title as the best-selling used vehicle, maintaining its edge over the Toyota Hilux.

A total of 33,824 used vehicles were sold in September, reflecting a +1.4% increase from August (33,346 units). However, overall sales remained -1.7% lower compared to the 34,402 units recorded in September 2025.

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Brand Performance: Toyota and Suzuki Lead Annual Growth

Toyota retained the top spot among manufacturers with 6,146 sales—up +7% month-on-month (MoM) and +9% year-on-year (YoY). Volkswagen followed in second place with 4,444 units (+4% MoM, -6% YoY), while Ford held third with 3,300 sales (-5% MoM, -4% YoY).

Suzuki posted a strong performance in fourth place with 2,537 sales (+5% MoM and a notable +20% YoY). Alongside Toyota, Suzuki was the only brand in the top 10 to register positive year-on-year growth.

Brand Highlights:

• Kia: Recorded the strongest monthly growth, jumping from 10th to 8th place with 1,144 sales (+16% MoM).
• Mercedes-Benz: Reported 1,192 units sold (-7% MoM), with its -21% YoY decline marking the largest annual drop among the top 10 brands.
• BMW & Nissan: Ranked 6th (1,808 sales) and 9th (1,126 sales), respectively, both recording monthly and annual declines.

“September’s figures show that the used car market has recovered some of the ground lost in August, although the results vary considerably between brands,” said George Mienie, CEO of AutoTrader. “Toyota and Suzuki were the only two leading manufacturers to increase their sales year-on-year, but at model level, eight of the top 10 recorded annual growth.”

Model Standouts: Ford Ranger Retains Top Spot as Starlet Surges

At a model level, the Ford Ranger remained South Africa’s best-selling used vehicle with 1,922 sales (+0.9% YoY), ahead of the Toyota Hilux with 1,626 sales (+2.2% YoY). The sales gap between the two bakkies narrowed from 401 units in August to 296 in September.

The Volkswagen Polo Vivo (1,247 units) and Volkswagen Polo (1,187 units) ranked third and fourth. Despite month-on-month gains, both were the only two models in the top 10 to register annual declines (-7.7% YoY and -20.5% YoY, respectively).

Key Model Trends:

• Toyota Starlet: Surged from 10th to 8th place with 595 units (+24.5% YoY), recording the largest annual increase among top 10 models.
• Toyota Fortuner: Gained ground on the 5th-placed Suzuki Swift (832 units) with 816 sales (+6.1% YoY), narrowing the gap between the two vehicles to just 16 units.
• Toyota Corolla Cross: Held 7th place with 625 sales (+7.8% YoY), with its average price dropping to R373,172 from R380,569 in September 2025.

Top 10 Sold Used Models in September 2026

Market Averages: Pricing and Mileage Trends

• Average Selling Price: Increased to R432,938 in September (+3.4% MoM from R418,649 and +3.5% YoY from R418,105).
• Average Mileage: Dropped to 69,991 km, compared to 71,149 km in August and 72,785 km in September 2025.
• Average Registration Year: Remained 2021 (compared to 2020 in September 2025).