South Africa’s motor trade industry recorded cautious bounce-back in August 2025, with real-term sales up 1.9% year-on-year helped by robust new vehicle buying and modest growth of accessory demand.
While fuel sales were a general drag, newly released data show firm consumer demand for mobility and aftermarket upgrade despite overall economic hardship.
New motor vehicle sales increased 9.4%, adding 2.4 percentage points to total growth, based on constant 2019 prices statistics.
Sales of accessories increased by 4.8%, subtracting 0.9 percentage points from the total. Fuel sales decreased by 4.2%, subtracting 1.1 percentage points from the total, with more volatility in level of consumption and price of energy.
Month on month, seasonally adjusted motor trade sales rose 0.5% in August, following increases of 0.9% in July and 0.4% in June.
Sales over the three months to August 2025 were 2.8% ahead of the same period in 2024. Once more, this was due to new cars (up 10.2%, adding 2.6 points), accessories (up 6.4%, adding 1.3 points), and used cars (up 2.5%, adding 0.5 points). Fuel retail sales declined by 5.0%, but pulled the overall down by 1.3 points.
Seasonally adjusted, the three months rose 1.5% compared to the previous quarter with used vehicle sales up by 3.3% (0.7 points), new vehicles up by 2.2% (0.6 points), and accessories up by 1.0% (0.2 points).
“The data reflects a nuanced recovery, “said Thandi Mokoena, a senior motor industry analyst. “Consumers are certainly spending on mobility but proof of the downtrend in petrol sales demonstrates lingering pressure from high petrol costs as well as evolving travel habits. New car sales resilience is a good thing, especially in the interest rate context and load-shedding disruption to dealership business.”
Analysts caution against optimism that although the rise in car sales is welcome, it is not necessarily sustainable. “We are noticing pent-up demand from delayed buying in previous quarters,” said Lerato Dlamini, Capital market strategist. “Accessories buying indicates an opening-out aftermarket economy, and this is positive news for small business and accessories suppliers. But fuel consumption patterns could be an indicator of more pervasive economic pressure.”
For South Africa and the wider SADC, there are stakes that are multi-dimensional. Increased automobile purchases have potential payoffs in terms of manufacturing and retail employment levels, but demand for accessories can potentially cause local supply chains.
But falling fuel sales risk transport affordability, logistics resilience, and energy policy integration.
In an economy where mobility is at the heart and a barometer of economic trust, August’s figures provide a guarded optimistic prognosis.
The challenge is now to keep momentum going while fighting structural hurdles from fuel prices to infrastructural supply shortfalls that continue to influence consumer sentiment and sectoral performance.
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