South African motorists may soon find fewer petrol stations open late at night as fuel retailers battle rising costs and weaker demand.

The South African Petroleum Retailers Association has warned that some operators are considering shorter trading hours, job cuts or overnight closures as pressure builds across the sector.

SAPRA chairperson Henry van der Merwe said many people wrongly believe petrol stations make more money when fuel prices rise.

Speaking in a CapeTalk interview, he explained that retailers work on a fixed margin per litre. This means their profit does not rise just because the pump price goes up.

“If we sell fuel at R25 a litre, we get R2, and if we sell it at R40 a litre, we get R2 because it’s a margin,” Van der Merwe said.

Drivers are Changing Habits

Higher fuel prices are also changing how South Africans use their cars.

Van der Merwe said many motorists are driving less, planning trips more carefully or using other forms of transport. Some customers are also putting in smaller amounts of fuel instead of filling up completely.

That is a major problem for fuel retailers because fewer litres sold means less income to cover costs.

Those costs include staff, electricity and security. The pressure is even worse for smaller and rural petrol stations, where steady sales are needed to keep operations going.

Night Trading may be Cut

Van der Merwe said some stations have already raised concerns about staying open overnight.

He said operators are warning that low night-time sales and security risks are making 24-hour trading harder to justify.

“Those people are phoning and saying we can’t afford to stay open at night because of security risks, because of low litres at night,” he said.

He also warned that shorter trading hours could become a supply issue in rural areas if stations reduce staff or close overnight.

Fuel Levy Relief Ending

The pressure comes as fuel levy relief is being phased out.

National Treasury’s temporary R3 per litre fuel levy relief is set to be removed in stages, with R1.50 per litre added back in June and the remaining R1.50 in July.

Current fuel price data shows petrol moved into a small over-recovery, but this is not expected to cancel out the levy changes.