This premium German carmaker bucked SA’s used-car market decline

BMW was the only brand among South Africa’s top 10 used-car sellers to record month-on-month growth in August, according to the latest figures from AutoTrader.

The Bavarian manufacturer registered 1,937 used-car sales for the month, up 1.9% from July’s 1,900 units. Overall pre-owned vehicle sales declined 4.1% month on month, from 34,759 to 33,346 units.

Every other brand in the top 10 recorded a decline. Market leader Toyota fell 5.0% to 5,750 units, while Volkswagen dropped 6.7% to 4,287 and Hyundai declined 8.7% to 2,117. Kia recorded the largest decline among the top 10, with sales falling 12.6%.

BMW retained sixth position overall, but narrowed the gap to fifth-placed Hyundai to 180 units, compared with 418 units in July.

BMW’s year-on-year performance was also relatively stable. Sales were down 1.5% from the 1,967 units recorded in August 2025.

The contrast with Mercedes-Benz was more pronounced. The German premium brand recorded 1,286 pre-owned vehicle sales in August, down 2.3% from July and 15.6% compared with August 2025.

BMW therefore outsold Mercedes-Benz by 651 units during the month, compared with a 443-unit advantage in August 2025.

Despite the overall decline in used-car sales, several high-volume brands continued to record substantially higher sales volumes than BMW.

BMW’s August result was the only month-on-month increase recorded among the top 10 brands, while its year-on-year decline was also considerably smaller than that of Mercedes-Benz.

TimesLIVE