Chinese Vehicles Are Gaining Serious Traction in South Africa’s Overall Used Vehicle Market
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AutoTrader’s latest pricing and mileage figures highlight a decisive shift in buyer behaviour as Chinese brands convert sceptics into confident second-hand shoppers. This shift could help accelerate the transition to electric vehicles in South Africa in the medium term, as Chinese brands have shown to be more aggressive when it comes to introducing PHEVs and BEVs into the South African market in 2025.
Traditionally, European, American, Japanese, and Korean vehicle brands have dominated the South African new vehicle and also used vehicle market. Going back perhaps a decade or so, there was a time when the idea of owning a Chinese vehicle in South Africa was perhaps underlined by humour. Why would you buy what was perceived to be an inferior vehicle to save a bit of money when there were so many great alternatives from Europe, Korea, and Japan? The reality today is far removed from that perception, and this is starting to show in South Africa’s new vehicle sales market, where the Chery Group’s offerings took the overall 4th position in 2025 vehicle sales, only behind Toyota, Volkswagen, and Suzuki. Chinese brands such as Chery, Haval, and Omoda now offer vehicles that have been well received on the market, and the general perception is that these vehicles are just as good as their counterparts from legacy automakers. In many cases, they still undercut competitors on price while offering more equipment, with no shortfall in quality, safety, or driving experience.
It doesn’t stop there. While these vehicles are selling strongly on the new car market — where, for example, Omoda and Jaecoo sold nearly 2,500 vehicles in Q3 2025 alone — they are becoming increasingly popular on the used car market too, with consumers recognising the strong value for money on offer according to Autotrader SA. This is a very significant development. Traditionally, car buyers have been worried about after-sales support, and, to be honest, some of the brands have not made it easy, as they haven’t had as wide a footprint as legacy brands over the years — spare parts and service centres were not as readily available. This is improving all the time, and the fact that used vehicle sales for Chinese brands are growing means that more people are now confident in the market in terms of availability of spare parts and after-sales support.
Which Chinese brands and models are South Africans on the overall used car market actually putting their money into? According to the latest AutoTrader data, these are the 10 best selling used Chinese vehicles in 2025:
AutoTrader Used Car Data
As discussed earlier, Chery is now a top four group in the South African new vehicle sales charts. Therefore, this will spill over onto the used car market. It comes as no surprise then that the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is the best-selling used Chinese car. Month after month, the crossover is one of South Africa’s best-selling new passenger cars, with more than 1,000 units sold each month. Last year, 3,144 units were sold, underscoring the popularity of Chery’s smallest offering. With an average price of R284,779, it is one of the cheapest cars on the list, despite its low average mileage of 21,970 km and a registration age of just two years.
The Tiggo 4 Pro is followed by the Haval Jolion, which competes in the same class. However, with fewer models, particularly more budget-focused derivatives (the cheapest new version is R348,950), sales are slightly lower at 2,736 units. The average used price is R319,259, while mileage is higher at 35,826 km, with a registration age of three years, suggesting Jolion buyers are opting for higher-spec models. It is worth noting that the updated Jolion Pro appears in tenth position, with 712 units sold and a higher average price of R407,891, although mileage and registration age are lower at 5,276 km and one year, respectively.
These are mostly ICE vehicles with some plugless hybrid variants. Although, these brands have started to offer more plugin options. This development is still quite positive for the electric vehicle market in South Africa, because as we all know Chinese brands are the ones mostly leading the charge to electric in China and increasingly in other parts of the world. The same is starting to happen as well in South Africa as Chinese brands are adding more PHEVs and BEVs to the South African market. Looking at the PHEV sales charts for 2025 in South Africa, sales of plugin hybrids (PHEVs) were up 280% in 2025 compared with sales figures from 2024. One of reasons for this is the growing sales of PHEVs from Chinese brands such as Haval, Chery, and Omoda.
As this confidence in Chinese brands in the overall market continues to grow, it will ultimately spill over into the South African PHEV and BEV markets, helping to drive adoption. Whilst a lot of the large legacy automakers such as Toyota with operations in South Africa continue to have a wait and see approach, a lot of the Chinese brands have been launching several PHEV modes such as the Jaecoos and Omodas, and others such as Geely and BYD adding BEV models in quick succession. This new confidence in Chinese brands will go a long way in accelerating adoption of EVs in South Africa.
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