• AutoTrader has released its 2023 Mid-Year Car Industry Report, looking at the vehicles that South Africans have been searching for so far this year.
• The car selling/buying platform detailed the Top 10 searched for vehicles, most popular brands, models, and more.
• The Report also detailed the local electric vehicle market, with 2023 seeing more new EV models become available than ever before.

Vehicle selling/buying platform AutoTrader has just released its latest Mid-Year Car Industry Report, looking at the purchasing habits of South Africans and detailing some of the most popular cars in 2023 so far.

While there are no real surprises when it comes to which are the most popular cars and brands for South African motorists compared to last year’s report, it is interesting to see how buying habits have changed, as well as how the sentiment towards owning an electric vehicle is SA is changing, despite the country’s ongoing energy crisis.

Looking closer at some of the data that AutoTrader utilised in creating the Mid-Year Report, a staggering 263 million searches were conducted on its platform over a period of six months.

Added to this is over 436 million pages being opened, with some notable metrics for vehicles being advertised including the fact that the average year model is 2018, and the average mileage is 74 711km. This points to a generally positive outlook towards the country’s motoring industry, according to AutoTrader CEO, George Mienie.

Familiar faces

“Data from the first six months of 2023 shows is a local automotive industry that continues to show remarkable resilience and progress despite a challenging economic backdrop. In fact, 2023 marks a year in which the automotive industry has steadily gained traction, making strides towards significant growth,” he explained in the opening remarks of the Report.

As for the most popular cars, once again the Toyota Hilux ruled supreme when it came to searches, claiming the top spot with 10 311 533 searches. This was followed fairly closely by the Volkswagen Golf, with the Ford Ranger, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and BMW 3 Series rounded out the top five.

Positions six to eight were held by more affordable vehicles respectively – the VW Polo, BMW 1 Series, VW Polo Vivo. Completing the top 10 in terms of searches were the Toyota Fortuner, and BMW X5.

“Car shoppers have clear favourites in the top 10 most searched for models, however in recent times, we have seen many previously less favoured models making it onto the top 20, with some hovering just under the top 10. So whilst there are regular favourites, it is clear that South African car shoppers are now more open to other models which address their needs,” the Report added.

Digger deeper into the search results, AutoTrader pointed out that its recently integrated Variant Search tool is yielding some significant customer engagement, with a 19 percent increase in variant search usage. Here Volkswagen reigned supreme, accounting for four variant models in the top 10, and featuring in the top three sports, with the VW Golf GTI a prized model among those searching.

Given SA’s love of hot hatches, and the special place that the GTI badge holds for many, this result isn’t all that surprising. “Notably, the Volkswagen Golf GTI continued to dominate as the most frequently searched Variant among all the listed options available for purchase, amassing 3.1 million searches or 1.18% of the total Variant searches,” AutoTrader’s data laid out.

An EV shift?

The final aspect worth highlighting in the report is EVs. Despite the country being crippled by an ongoing energy crisis, 2023 is shaping up as a good year for EVs, particularly when it comes to new models entering the country.

“In the year 2023, we are witnessing a remarkable surge in the inclusion of EVs, with more models entering the market than ever before,” said AutoTrader.

“In the year 2023, a total of 15 electric vehicles (EVs) were listed, reflecting significant growth with regard to the options available in the market. These EVs commanded an average price of R1,455,079, accompanied by an average mileage of 16,331km and an average year model of 2021,” it continued.

While many South Africans remain on the fence about EVs, it looks like manufacturers are happy to continue bringing more options into the country, with luxury car makers like BMW featuring in four of the top 10 listed EV spots.

To download (PDF) and look at the report in full for yourself, head here.