In AutoTrader’s latest Car Industry Report which compiled user data from the car classifieds site between January and December 2021, the company revealed the top 10 brands and vehicles South Africans searched for the most.
Over 637 million total searches were conducted on the site during this time – equating to around 20 searches per second – and over 870 million pages were opened.
“While the report reveals that consumers are researching more brands than ever before, they continue to be brand loyal,” said AutoTrader.
“The five most-searched-for brands – BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Audi – remained the same in 2021, changing only in rank.”
BMW’s popularity kept it in first place in 2020 and 2021, seeing almost 8 million additional searches last year when compared to the year before.
The average search price of the 10 most-searched-for cars at the end of 2021 was then R374,149, while the average search mileage stood at 75,413km.
The average model year of the most-searched-for vehicles was 2016.
Additionally, the report said that the VW Polo was the most-listed car on AutoTrader for the period, the SUV was the most-searched-for body style, and Toyota was the most-enquired-on brand.
The electric vehicle (EV) segment also experienced an impressive uptick in interest with a 110% increase in EV searches and 151% increase in EV listing views.
During the year, 379 EVs were listed on AutoTrader at an average price of R1,343,341 and average mileage of 63,037km, while 2020 was the average model year for these cars.
Top 10 brands
The top 10 most-searched-for brands on AutoTrader in 2021 are as follows:
- Porsche – 15,687,538 searches
- Nissan – 16,560,800 searches
- Hyundai – 18,639,310 searches
- Land Rover – 22,586,136 searches
- Ford – 39,914,388 searches
- Audi – 45,097,538 searches
- Toyota – 70,457,213 searches
- Mercedes-Benz – 76,666,409 searches
- VW – 77,526,752 searches
- BMW – 81,283,866 searches
Top 10 models
The top 10 most-searched-for vehicle models on AutoTrader in 2021 are as follows:
- Audi A3 – 6,499,660 searches
- BMW X5 – 7,251,480 searches
- Toyota Fortuner – 8,653,191 searches
- BMW 1 Series – 9,757,940 searches
- VW Polo – 13,218,951 searches
- Ford Ranger – 14,901,922 searches
- BMW 3 Series – 16,805,773 searches
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 18,352,229 searches
- VW Golf – 19,845,735 searches
- Toyota Hilux – 22,772,979 searches
Top 10 variants
The top 10 most-searched-for model variants on AutoTrader in 2021 are as follows:
- Audi RS3 2.5 – 828,589 searches
- Toyota Hilux 3.0D-4D – 990,681 searches
- VW Polo 1.0TSI – 1,058,071 searches
- Toyota Hilux 2.8GD-6 – 1,078,435 searches
- BMW 320d – 1,099,037 searches
- Ford Ranger Wildtrak – 1,365,795 searches
- Mercedes-AMG C63 – 2,073,831 searches
- VW Golf R – 2,088,017 searches
- VW Polo GTI – 2,920,290 searches
- VW Golf GTI – 3,226,897 searches
Top 6 electric vehicles
The top 6 most-searched-for electric vehicles on AutoTrader in 2021 are as follows:
- Ford Mustang Mach E – 3,152 searches
- Nissan Leaf – 4,674 searches
- Mini Cooper SE – 23,977 searches
- Jaguar I-Pace – 96,894 searches
- BMW i3 – 205,663 searches
- Porsche Taycan – 206,625 searches
Keyword: Top 10 most-searched-for pre-owned cars in 2021