The Easter Bunny usually makes his rounds in April, but because Easter fell in March this year, car sales, both new and used, took a backseat.
New car sales decreased by -15.1% compared to the same period last year, and used car sales almost reflected this decline by -12%.
“March was full of public holidays, which led to a slowdown in auto sales, a month not normally affected by the Easter holiday.April is traditionally a slow month for sales.Thus, year-over-year and month-over-month sales This is not an apples-to-apples comparison as it has historically been,” explains AutoTrader CEO George Meany.
“Despite the impact of multiple holidays, in the used car market, sales of Kia, Suzuki and Renault increased by approximately +48%, +20% and +3% year-on-year, respectively,” he added. .
Despite these improved performance, the momentum in used car sales slowed in March, with sales down -5% month-on-month, according to AutoTrader data. Sales volume was 27,274 units, a decrease of 1,384 units from the previous month. Total sales amounted to R11.26 billion, a decrease of -2.93% compared to February 2024.
Toyota led sales, selling 4,434 used cars, ahead of Volkswagen and Ford. BMW, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Nissan, Suzuki and Renault round out the top 10 brands.
Kia, the only brand in the top 10 to post a month-on-month increase, sold 1,377 units, up +20%. With this, the Korean automaker gained two places in the ranking.
The Ford Ranger sold the most models, with 1,599 units sold, ahead of its rival Toyota Hilux with 1,315 units.
The hatchbacks Kia Picanto and Suzuki Swift led the growth in model sales, posting annual sales growth of +53% and +40% respectively. Picanto's monthly sales increased by 22%.
The half-ton bakkie Nissan NP200 maintained its 10th place in the ranking.
Meanwhile, hatchback duo VW Polo Vivo 1.4 and VW Polo 1.0TSI continued to outperform domestic cars Toyota Hilux 2.8GD-6, Ford Ranger XL and Toyota Hilux 2.4GD-6 in terms of derivative sales.
The average used car price in March rose to R413,005 from R404,905 the previous month. The average mileage of the models sold is 74,612km, and the average model year is 2018.
The holiday period is generally not a good time for car sales. Therefore, next month's sales are expected to reflect a slightly more positive trend.
Top 10 selling models in March 2024
Ranked in order of best sales | model | Number of sales | Price (R) average | Mileage (km) Average | Registration year average |
1 | ford ranger | 1,599 | 467,753 | 80,888 | 5 years old |
2 | toyota hilux | 1,315 | 454,833 | 101,900 | 5 years old |
3 | volkswagen polo | 1,190 | 267,177 | 70,931 | 5 years old |
Four | Volkswagen Polo Vivo | 849 | 190,968 | 62,255 | 5 years old |
Five | toyota fortuner | 639 | 457,739 | 108,167 | 6 years old |
6 | mercedes benz c class | 529 | 424,619 | 94,604 | 8-year-old |
7 | bmw 3 series | 483 | 355,884 | 111,820 | 9 years old |
8 | kia picanto | 453 | 176,361 | 44,568 | 4-year-old |
9 | suzuki swift | 385 | 185,256 | 37,968 | 3 years old |
Ten | Nissan NP200 | 363 | 169,211 | 87,930 | 5 years old |
Source: AutoTrader Used car sales data: March 1, 2024 – March 31, 2024