South Africa’s favourite second-hand car – it’s not the Toyota Hilux

Although Toyota remains one of South Africa’s most popular car choices, those trying to sell these cars may find that they have a more difficult time than they expect.

According to Naamsa, Toyota was the best-selling car brand in South Africa in 2024, with 124,435 sales for the year, dropping slightly from 138,357 in 2023.

This was followed by Volkswagen, which sold 60,975 units, and Suzuki, at 59,574.

However, while Toyota may be the best-selling car in South Africa, the story looks slightly different when looking at the country’s second-hand car market.

AutoTrader’s 2024 Mid-Year Car Industry Report revealed that the best-selling car in the first six months of 2024 was the Ford Ranger, which was followed by a Toyota Hilux and a Volkswagen Polo.

Similarly, the Ford Ranger remained the undisputed leader in the used vehicle market in January 2025, with Toyota and Volkswagen competing for second and third place, respectively.

Interestingly, Ford is only the fourth best-selling car brand in South Africa, with 32,766 sales in 2024.

AutoTrader motoring journalist Sean Nurse explained on the Everything Counts podcast that Toyota’s longevity may actually be hurting its sales on the second-hand market.

“If we look at Hilux versus Ranger, it is the bakkie battle of the century in South Africa,” Nurse said.

“Hilux wins, and I’m sure Ford hates the fact that they’re always getting beaten. But in the used market, there is a notable shift in this dynamic – the Ranger is the best-selling pre-owned car in the country.”

In the first half of 2024, the Toyota Hilux was the most-searched-for model with 6.29 million searches, with the Volkswagen Polo following closely behind at 5.77 million searches.

The Ford Ranger came in as the third most searched model, with 4.79 million searches.

One reason for this, as the report pointed out, is that 2024 “has marked the year in which consumers are voting for popularity with their wallets and not their aspirations”.

For example, Suzuki, which sold the third most cars in 2024, was only the tenth most searched car brand in 2024.

Other East-Asian car brands, such as Isuzu, Chery, and Kia – which were all among the top 10 best-selling car brands in 2024 – did not crack the list of the top 10 most-searched car brands at all.

However, more aspirational car brands, such as BMW and Mercedes Benz, were among the top searches for the year, even though this was not reflected in their sales numbers.

Interestingly, when looking at the 192 million Consumer Advert Views (CAVs) that were opened in 2024, Porsche made up over 5.3 million of those.

In other words, while South Africans may still be aspiring towards luxury cars, they are ultimately voting with their wallets when making a purchase.

“I think Toyota’s reliability and longevity play against it in the used market because the car retains its value more,” Nurse said.

“Consumers shopping for value can get a slightly lower mileage Ranger for the same, if not less, money than a Hilux.”

“So they’re going for the used Ranger, whereas in the new market, it’s probably better to buy the Hilux because of the aforementioned resale value.”

According to AutoTrader’s report, of the 172,668 used cars sold during the first half of 2024, 9,669 were Ford Rangers.

On average, these models sold for R465,026, with a mileage of 80,624 miles.

In comparison, 8,475 Toyota Hilux models were sold for an average of R449,926 with 104,449 miles.

Where the average Ford Ranger sold was a 2020 model, Hilux models were slightly older, with the average car sold being a 2019 make.