Record-breaking October for pre-owned car sales: Toyota, Ford and VW dominate
The best-selling pre-owned variant in October was the Volkswagen Polo Vivo 1.4.
Image: Supplied
Just like new car sales last month, the pre-owned market continued to record strong growth with bakkies and compact hatchbacks leading the demand, reflecting the sustained consumer confidence that has characterised 2025.
October was one of the best-performing months for used car sales so far this year, and according to AutoTrader’s October used car sales data, a total of 36 042 used vehicles were sold - a notable increase compared to previous months.
This represents year-on-year (YoY) and month-on-month (MoM) growth of 3.1% and 8.2%, respectively, outperforming the 33 907 units sold in September 2025 and 34 402 units in August 2025.
Toyota leads
It’s no surprise that, as is the case with new car sales, Toyota leads the segment, recording 6 266 used car sales in October.
They continue to dominate the leaderboard, with 40% of the top 10 models wearing a Toyota badge. Volkswagen holds second place with 5 209 used vehicles sold, while Ford maintains third position with 3 641 sales.
Hyundai and Suzuki retain their fourth and fifth spots, posting the highest year-on-year growth rates at 33% and 30% respectively. The steepest year-on-year declines came from Mercedes-Benz (7th) and Nissan (8th), with drops of 12% and 20%.
Notably, all brands recorded month-on-month sales increases, with Renault showing the largest rise at 11%.
Toyota still leads the used car segment.
Image: Supplied
Ranger still tops
While Toyota continues to dominate overall, the Japanese automaker still can’t dethrone the Ford Ranger, which remains South Africa’s best-selling model. The locally built bakkie recorded 2 035 used sales last month, placing it well ahead of its rival, the Hilux, which achieved 1 688 units over the same period.
It’s worth noting that the Ranger experienced a year-on-year decline of 2.2%, while the Hilux posted marginal growth of 1.4%.
VW Polo
The Polo Vivo has overtaken the Polo for third place, with 1,532 units sold, though the Polo follows closely at 1 506 (down 10.3% year-on-year). The Toyota Fortuner retains its fifth-place position with 855 models sold (and a 16% year-on-year increase).
The Ford Ranger remains South Africa’s best-selling model.
Image: Supplied
Merc and BMW are down
Continuing a recent trend, the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class appear to have permanently dropped off the top 10 leaderboard, replaced by more affordable and economical hatchbacks and crossovers.
The Hyundai Grand i10 has shown remarkable year-on-year growth, with sales increasing by 74.1% compared to October 2024. The Corolla Cross has also performed strongly, with a 37.7% increase.
The top 10 used car sales for October.
Image: Supplied
Key October figures
The cumulative value of used cars reached R16.11 billion in October, representing a MoM increase of 16.4% from September 2025 (R13.83 billion) and a YoY increase of 14.4% from August 2024 (R14.09 billion).
The average price of a used vehicle increased to R447 046 in October 2025, up from R416 302 in September 2025.
The average mileage decreased to 72,726km in October 2025, compared to 73,447km in September 2025.
The best-selling variant in October was the Volkswagen Polo Vivo 1.4, which recorded 1 181 units sold. The Vivo 1.4 alone outperformed the combined sales of the Toyota Starlet and Hyundai Grand i10.
It was followed by the Polo 1.0 TSI with 977 units, the Hilux 2.8 GD-6 with 729, the Ranger XL with 671, and the Hilux 2.4 GD-6 with 573.