State of the Car Industry Report revealed
BMW is the most searched-for car brand in South Africa. The Toyota Hilux is the most desired car model. Online vehicle searches have grown by an impressive 54,1%.
These are just some of the interesting findings contained within the latest biannual AutoTrader Car Industry Report, titled #ReBound.
The report covers the July to December 2020 period, and it includes interesting data valuable to the used and new car market in South Africa.
According to George Mienie, AutoTrader CEO, 2020 saw an unprecedented interruption to the local automotive industry. “2020 will be a year that will go down in history. Lockdown was the catalyst that is driving and – in many ways – forcing an accelerated change in the automotive industry.
“What would have taken years suddenly started happening sooner. We have seen a compression of the innovation curve in the South African automotive industry (as a result of Covid pressures and uncertainty). It is like we are being fast-forwarded. New automotive technologies, business models and thinking should begin to emerge in 2021,” he predicted.
While 2020 was turbulent, it was not without its highs. For instance, during 2020, 270 million total searches were conducted, a record high, representing growth of 54,1% year-on-year. The most searched-for brand was BMW once again, which accounted for 15,4% of all car brand searches from July 1 to December 31, 2020. Mercedes-Benz took second place from Volkswagen with 14,8% of all car searches. Volkswagen clocked in third with 14,3% of the searches.
BMW also romped home first in the consumer advert view department (one of the leading indicators of demand), receiving 19,3 million views. This was over nine million more views than the same period a year ago. In total, over 130 million car views, indicating an incredible 70% increase year-on-year, were clocked.
The most searched-for model, with 9,3 million searches, was the Toyota Hilux, followed by the Volkswagen Golf and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The BMW 3 Series, previously second in the previous AutoTrader Biannual Car Industry Report, dropped to fourth place.
Used car prices rose in the second half of 2020, which is unusual and can only be put down to the effects of lockdown. Historically, prices in the second half of the calendar year are lower. In the second half of 2020, average car prices rose to R312 794, representing a 8,5% increase, with the average mileage being 70 429 km, representing a 4,7% decrease.
The full report, as well as an array of previous automotive reports, are available at reports.autotrader.co.za
