Income

The total income for the motor trade industry in 2012 was R521 292million. The largest contributor to the total income was `retail sales of motor vehicles` (R255 031 million or 49%), followed by `retail sales of automotive fuel` (R146 358 million or 28%) and `sales of new motor vehicle parts and accessories` (R51 535 million or 10%).
Large enterprises (those with turnover equal to or greater than R78 million) generated 61% or R319 305 million of the total income of the motor trade industry in 2012.

Expenditure

Expenditure in the motor trade industry in 2012 amounted to R513 885 million. The expenditure consisted primarily of `purchases` (R424 068 million or 83%), followed by `salaries and wages` (R38 374 million or 7%).

Employment

The total number of persons employed in the motor trade industry at the end of June 2012 was 284 981. `Retail sales of motor vehicles` employed the largest number of persons (91 742 or 32%), followed by `retail sales of automotive fuel` (84 289 or 30%), `maintenance and repair of motor vehicles` (48 819 or 17%), and `sales of new motor vehicles parts and accessories` (45 375 or 16).

The proportion of females out of the total persons employed was 27%. The industries with the highest proportion of females employed were `wholesale sales of motor vehicles` and `retail sales of automotive fuel`, both at (31%).

Employment by enterprise size indicates that the large enterprises (those with turnover equal to or greater than R78 million) had the highest number of employees (116 733 or 42%), followed by small enterprises (69 772 or 24%), micro enterprises (55 483 or 19%) and medium enterprises (42 993 or 15%).