Motor trade sales up 7.5%
Motor trade sales rose by 7.5% year on year in December 2011, from 14.1% in November, Statistics SA reported on Thursday (16 February 2012).
The highest annual growth rate was recorded for fuel sales (17.8%) followed by convenience store sales (7%) and new vehicle sales (5.7%).
In December 2011 seasonally adjusted motor trade sales decreased by 4.1% month on month, following month-on-month changes of 2.6% in November and -3.2% in October.
Motor trade sales for the fourth quarter 2011 increased by 12.2% compared with the fourth quarter 2010.
The major contributors to the increase were fuel sales (23.7% and contributing 6.0 percentage points) and new vehicle sales (15.4% and contributing 4.1 percentage points) and sales of accessories (6.3% and contributing 1.1 percentage points).
Motor trade sales for 2011 increased by 13.8% compared with 2010.