The laws of supply and demand are driving up the prices of popular used vehicles in South Africa, with data from AutoTrader showing that the price of the top 10 most enquired about car models has risen by an average of around R30,000.
AutoTrader collected data for the first six months of 2021 versus the last six months of 2020. “According to the 2021 AutoTrader Mid-Year Industry Report, over 319 million total vehicle searches were conducted on AutoTrader during the first half of 2021.
“This was a record high, representing growth of 44% year-on-year. This increase in demand has – quite understandably – resulted in prices increasing,” said AutoTrader CEO George Mienie.
Toyota Hilux, the top-selling vehicle in South Africa in 2021, is also the most searched for used model in the first six months of 2021 on AutoTrader, accounting for 3.6% of all searches and 11.5 million searches. Its average price has risen by 11.54%.
The increase in the average price for the Ford Ranger – the most sold used car in the 2020 AutoTrader Annual Report and the 2021 AutoTrader Mid-Year Industry Report – was at R26,022 or 7.47%.
While used car demand has pushed up prices, this has also resulted from more restricted used vehicle availability. The 2021 AutoTrader Mid-Year Industry Report showed that in the six months ending June 2021, over 633,000 vehicles were listed on the car site, with June accounting for the largest stock count.
Year on year, there was a 4% reduction in available stock – meaning fewer consumers were selling vehicles.
“If these trends continue – namely, we see an increase in demand and a reduction in stock – used vehicle prices may continue to increase in the second half of 2021, too,” said Mienie.
(BUSINESSTECH)
