The Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux retained their positions as South Africa’s best-selling used vehicles on AutoTrader, but the results further down the table showed growing demand for smaller and more affordable cars.The Suzuki Swift moved into fifth place, with 4,872 units sold, while the Hyundai Grand i10 entered the top 10 for the first time, according to the car sales platform. The Toyota Starlet placed 10th, and the Volkswagen Polo Vivo overtook the Polo to become the country’s third-best-selling used model.The average selling price of the top 10 models was R344,354, considerably below the overall used-car average. This supports AutoTrader’s broader finding that buyers are increasingly concentrating on vehicles that offer manageable purchase prices and lower day-to-day running costs, said AutoTrader CEO George Mienie.“The market grew in the first six months of the year, but the buyer behind that growth is careful,” said Mienie. “People are still interested in premium and performance cars, as the search data makes clear, but completed sales lean heavily towards vehicles that are affordable to buy, economical to run and easy to live with.” He said the used-car market continued to grow despite greater pressure on borrowing costs and household finances. Used-car sales on AutoTrader increased by 8% during the first half of 2026, with 195,455 vehicles changing hands. The total value of these sales rose by +9% to R82.38bn.“Traditional market leaders remain firmly established, but buyers are widening their consideration sets. Compact hatchbacks are taking a larger share of completed sales, Chinese brands are converting more interest into transactions, and new-energy vehicles are becoming an increasingly visible part of the used market,” he said.SUVs continued to account for the largest portion of used-car sales on the platform, holding 33% of the market. The Toyota Fortuner was the best-selling SUV, followed closely by the Corolla Cross and Volkswagen T-Cross.Hatchbacks remained another important part of the market, led by the Polo Vivo, Polo and Swift. Double cab bakkies were headed by the Ford Ranger, which sold almost twice as many units as its nearest rival in the category.Chinese manufacturers continued to grow faster than the wider used-car market, with sales increasing 57%.BYD and Jetour each recorded a 147% increase in searches. Both also posted substantial growth in inquiries and sales, though these increases were measured from comparatively small bases. MG, GAC, Jaecoo and Omoda were among the other Chinese brands to record strong gains.The arrival of Changan, Lepas and Dongfeng during the first half of the year also broadened the selection of Chinese vehicles available to local buyers.Used new-energy vehicle (NEV) sales increased by 92% year on year, with 4,703 hybrid and battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) sold during the first half of 2026.Hybrids accounted for 83% of these sales. The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid remained the most popular NEV with 1,416 units sold. It was followed in the hybrid rankings by the Toyota RAV4 and Haval H6.BEV sales rose by 98%, with the Volvo EX30 the most popular, followed by the BYD Dolphin Surf and Volvo XC40. Business Day