- South Africans spend R10 165.05 to keep a vehicle on the road compared to R 7 715.94 in 2021.
- This is a substantial increase that has been driven by rising fuel prices and inflation.
- The cost of new and used vehicles is set to continue climbing in 2023.
The cost of owning a vehicle has increased 21.27 percent according to data analysed by Wesbank.
The cost of ownership determined by Wesbank is based on a number of factors and your specific case may differ. For this assessment, however, Wesbank uses an entry-level vehicle valued at approximately R250 000 travelling 2 500km per month. The basket – as it’s referred to – includes vehicle repayment instalments, fuel, insurance and maintenance fees.
| Year | Monthly instalment | Monthly fuel costs | Monthly insurance fee | Monthly running cost | Total per month |
| 2020 | R 3,433.06 | R 2,565.50 | R 1,235.43 | R 349.77 | R 7,583.76 |
| 2021 | R 3,438.11 | R 2,646.00 | R 1,273.73 | R 358.10 | R 7,715.94 |
| 2022 | R 3,779.28 | R 3,780.00 | R 1,322.13 | R 475.39 | R 9,356.80 |
However, Wesbank also has data for October and November of this year and that picture is even more grim.
| Year | Monthly instalment | Monthly fuel costs | Monthly insurance fee | Monthly running cost | Total per month |
| 2022 (Oct) | R 4 131,26 | R 4 033,75 | R 1 348,57 | R 501,63 | R 10 015,21 |
| 2022 (Nov) | R 4,313.10 | R 3,949.75 | R 1,409.26 | R 492.94 | R 10,165.05 |
As we can see, October and November exceeded the yearly average seen thus far. This, Wesbank says, is due in part to ongoing interest rate hikes as well as rising fuel prices.
And things aren’t going to get better according to WesBank’s Head of Marketing and Communication, Lebogang Gaoaketse.
“As a result of vehicle price inflation over the past year and other industry constraints, consumers have spent more on average for new and used vehicles in 2022, and this trend is likely to continue into 2023. In October this year, the average value of a new vehicle financed through WesBank was R388 338 compared to R368 696 in October 2021. This reflects a 5 percent year-on-year average price increase for new vehicles,” says Gaoaketse.
“Prospective vehicle owners should take a holistic view when planning a car purchase to ensure they don’t overextend themselves by right-sizing the spend to fit their budget. This includes making allowances for increases in costs down the line, such as a higher interest rate or a further increase in the fuel price, as we are currently experiencing in 2022,” the marketing head says.
These figures are especially poignant in a market that is returning to some state of pre-COVID normalcy. With businesses calling on employees to return to the office, we suspect many more South Africans will look to alternatives to commute and get around.
In even more bad news, the price of Unleaded Petrol 93 and 95 is increasing by 59 cents per litre on Wednesday. The slightly better news for those using diesel will see prices drop by up to R1.57 according to BusinessTech.
[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]
