Online vehicle purchasing platform AutoTrader’s latest data indicates a positive and strong start to 2026 for the used car market, showing notable month-on-month (MoM) and year-on-year (YoY) growth.
A total of 34,452 vehicles were sold in January 2026, improving on December 2025 (30,742) and January 2025 (30,961) representing increases of 12.07% and 11.28%, respectively.
The most popular brands endured with Toyota leading as the best-selling marque with 5,876 cars sold in total, up from December 2025 (5,039) and January 2025 (5,330) and accounting for 40% of the top 10 best-selling used cars. The Japanese brand also recorded one of the highest MoM increases, up 17% compared with December 2025 and 10% growth YoY.
Ranges
Second-placed Volkswagen shifted 4,733 units and in third place was Ford which delivered 3,577 used models, the majority being the previous generation Ranger bakkie — the best selling single range model with 2,069 units sold in January 2026, a 6.3% YoY increase.
In second place was the Toyota Hilux, which registered 1,604 units, with a YoY growth of 6.2% and the Polo Vivo and Polo came in third and fourth, respectively, each selling 1,389 and 1,299 units.
Placed fifth on the overall single range performers was Japanese brand Suzuki Swift with 794 units sold, knocking down the Toyota Fortuner to sixth overall with 708 units. Suzuki also recorded the greatest MoM improvement at 25% while Korean stalwarts Hyundai achieved the strongest YoY growth of 45%. The only brand to post an MoM decline was BMW, down 4% compared with December 2025 though it still managed a 5% YoY increase.
The biggest YoY declines came from Mercedes-Benz and Nissan, both down 10%, the latter recently announcing it sold its Pretoria manufacturing facility to China’s Chery.
Later in the sequence, and also in the news of late for a low new car assessment programme (NCAP) score, is the Toyota Corolla Cross in 7th place with 651 units, representing a 42.8% YoY increase. The Hyundai Grand i10, which also scored low on the NCAP score sheet, saw a remarkable 71.9% increase, rising from 320 units in January 2025 to 550 in January 2026.
“January’s performance shows just how resilient and adaptable the South African used car market has become,” said George Mienie, CEO of AutoTrader.
“Starting the year with double-digit month-on-month and year-on-year growth, especially off a strong 2025 base, is a clear signal of sustained consumer demand.”
Mienie added that the latest data shows clearly that buyers are balancing dependability with affordability. The cumulative value of used cars reached R14.32bn in January 2026, representing a MoM increase of 11.05% from December 2025 (R12.89bn) and a YoY increase of 13.80% from January 2025 (R12.59bn).
The average price of a used vehicle was R416,082 in January, down from R419,537 in December 2025 and up from R406,693 in January 2025 where the average mileage decreased to 70,938km in January , compared with 72,433km in December 2025 and 74,041km in January 2025.
Variants
On a variant level, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo 1.4 leads with 1,044 units sold followed by the Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI (791) units, Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 (694), Ford Ranger XL (689) and Toyota Hilux 2.4 GD-6 (569).
