Auto Insights Newsletter | April 2022

South Africans buying older used vehicles

Sales of vehicles under 2 years of age down from 35% to 10% in 7 years

South Africans are buying older used vehicles in another sign that the country is battling tough economic conditions, exacerbated in the last two years by the pandemic.

Data from Lightstone’s Signio, which automates the financing of used Passenger and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), confirms automotive industry consensus that the vehicle parc is ageing.

The graph below shows how the average age of vehicles financed through Signio has crept up from 3.97 in 2015 to 6.29 in 2022.

Average age of vehicles financed through Signio

The average age of LCVs is lower than passenger vehicles. In 2015 the average age of a LCV financed through Signio was 3.85 years and this has increased to 5.78 in 2022. The average age of a passenger vehicle financed through Signio (see graph below) in 2015 was 4 years and this has climbed to 6.42 years in 2022.

Average age of vehicles financed through Signio by market

Distribution of vehicle ages by transaction year

The distribution of vehicle ages by transaction year highlights the growing trend to purchasing older vehicles.

In 2015, vehicles aged between 0-2 years contributed 34.22% of transactions, and this has fallen to less than 10% in 2022. On the other hand, vehicles older than 8 years accounted for nearly 23% of transactions in 2022, significantly higher than the 6.84% in 2015.