By South Africa’s motor trade sector posted modest annual growth in June 2026, driven by sustained demand in vehicle dealership sales. However, contraction in fuel volumes and a sequential decline highlight underlying economic headwinds facing consumers.
According to the latest preliminary statistical release from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), motor trade sales measured in constant 2019 prices (real terms) increased by 1.5% year-on-year in June 2026. This follows year-on-year increases of 0.2% in May and 6.1% in April, bringing the year-to-date real growth for the sector to 5.2%.
In current prices (nominal terms), motor trade sales rose by 10.7% year-on-year to reach R80.3 billion for the month.
Dealerships Drive the Annual Expansion
The year-on-year real growth in June was predominantly anchored by robust performances in vehicle sales:
- New Vehicle Sales: Increased by 15.6% year-on-year in real terms (constant 2019 prices), contributing 4.1 percentage points to the overall sector headline number. In nominal terms, new vehicle sales reached R22.34 billion, representing a 16.0% annual increase.
- Used Vehicle Sales: Rose by 6.3% year-on-year in real terms, adding 1.3 percentage points to the total growth. Nominal used vehicle sales amounted to R14.72 billion (+6.7% year-on-year).
- Convenience Store Sales: Income from quickshops and filling station cafes increased by 5.6% year-on-year in real terms, providing a positive contribution of 0.2 percentage points.
Fuel and Workshop Income Act as Key Drag
Counteracting the strength in auto sales was a sharp contraction in fuel trading volumes and weaker aftermarket activity:
- Income from Fuel Sales: Dropped by 12.0% year-on-year in real terms, dragging down the overall growth rate by -3.0 percentage points. However, due to fuel price adjustments, fuel sales in nominal terms surged by 21.3% year-on-year to R22.62 billion.
- Workshop Income: Contracted by 6.6% year-on-year in real terms (-0.3 percentage point contribution).
- Spares and Accessories: Sales of auto accessories fell by 3.7% year-on-year in real terms (-0.8 percentage point contribution).
Quarterly and Sequential Slump
While the year-on-year figures reflect positive performance, short-term trends reveal a cooling sector.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, constant-price motor trade sales declined by 2.7% in June 2026 compared to May 2026. This marks the third consecutive month-on-month drop, following declines of -2.6% in May and -4.4% in April.
For the second quarter of 2026 (April–June):
- Year-on-Year Quarter Comparison: Real sales grew by 2.6% compared to Q2 2025, supported by a 14.8% surge in new vehicle sales.
- Sequential Quarter Comparison: Seasonally adjusted real sales contracted by 2.9% compared to Q1 2026 (January–March), driven down by a 9.4% decline in real fuel sales.
Summary of Performance by Activity
| Type of Activity | June 2026 Sales (Current Prices, R million) PDF | YoY % Change (Current Prices) PDF | YoY % Change (Constant 2019 Prices) PDF | Contribution to Real YoY Change (% points) PDF |
| New vehicle sales | R22 337 | +16,0% | +15,6% | +4,1 |
| Used vehicle sales | R14 720 | +6,7% | +6,3% | +1,3 |
| Workshop income | R2 647 | +0,6% | -6,6% | -0,3 |
| Accessories sales | R15 566 | -2,4% | -3,7% | -0,8 |
| Fuel sales | R22 620 | +21,3% | -12,0% | -3,0 |
| Convenience store sales | R2 413 | +8,0% | +5,6% | +0,2 |
| Total Motor Trade | R80 302 | +10,7% | +1,5% | +1,5 |
Sector Outlook
The divergence between strong new vehicle sales and declining fuel volumes points to shifting consumer dynamics. While fleet renewals and auto sales momentum provided a boost to dealership balance sheets in Q2 2026, the real-term contraction in fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance spending underlines pressure on household transport budgets. Economic analysts will be monitoring whether sequential monthly contractions taper off as interest rate and price pressures evolve heading into the second half of the year.
