Two for two: Ford Ranger is Australia’s most popular new and used model for March

Despite the new-vehicle stock shortages from major brands like Toyota, Ford, and Kia largely behind them, Australians are still turning to the used-car market in large numbers as rising costs bite.

According to the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA), 184,054 used vehicles changed hands in March 2024, which compares to the 109,647 new-vehicle sales over the same month.

Most popular on the used market in March was the Ford Ranger (up to 10 years old) with 5175 vehicles sold, taking an average of 45.9 days to sell.

This compares to the 5661 new Rangers Ford Australia sold last month, which was also enough for the model to take out the number one spot on the new-car sales charts.

In second place on the used-car market was the Toyota HiLux, which saw 4265 sales last month.

This means more second-hand HiLux models were sold last month than new as Toyota Australia posted a 3995-unit tally for its workhorse model in March.

However, Toyota occupied another four spots in the top 10 used-car sales charts, with the Corolla (3712), Camry (2621), RAV4 (2121), and LandCruiser (1994) also proving popular with buyers in third, fourth, eighth, and 10th positions respectively.

Coming in fifth place was the Mitsubishi Triton on 2545 sales, followed closely by the Hyundai i30 in sixth with a 2400 tally.

Rounding out the top 10 was a pair of Mazda models – the Mazda3 (2277) in seventh position and the CX-5 (2085) in ninth place.

The AADA data also highlights the average days to sell a used vehicle is currently the shortest it’s been for 12 months at 44.2 days, while also indicating retained values for used models less than four years old are holding steady.

In fact, the report reveals a number of recent models on the used market are selling for more than the recommended retail prices.

The most profitable amongst these is the Suzuki Jimny, which has a 126.3 per cent retained value percentage, but is taking longer to sell remaining on the market on average for 50 days.

However, it is clearly Toyota that is leading the way for retained value, as the LandCruiser, Yaris Cross, 86, and Yaris are also sitting in positive territory for average retained value.

AADA CEO James Voortman said the pricing for used cars is coming back down after the spike brought on by market factors and the global pandemic.

“Ongoing strength in new car sales has improved the supply situation on the used car market leading to more choice and improved affordability,” he said.

“Consumers are in a good position to shop around and negotiate a good price for a used car.

“The average time to sell a used car is now the lowest it has been for 12 months which tells us that sellers are becoming more pragmatic and buyers are taking advantage of lower prices of used cars.”