A Market Under Pressure: Why Fewer Mauritians Are Buying Cars in 2026

The new car market continues to lose momentum, and the figures for the first seven months of 2026 suggest the slowdown is now settling in. What the numbers also make clear is that this is not a new-car story alone. The imported vehicle segment is under even greater strain.

A quick note on terms. Mauritius's car market runs across three broad segments: brand new vehicles, imported vehicles brought in largely as reconditioned units by specialist dealers, and locally pre-owned cars that change hands between owners. The figures below concern the first two. The pre-owned segment is a separate market and is not captured in these numbers.

New car registrations down 36%

Between January and July 2026, 7,850 new vehicles were registered in Mauritius, compared with 12,319 over the same period in 2025. That is 4,469 fewer registrations in a single year, a contraction of 36.3%.

July offered no respite. The month recorded 1,210 new registrations against 1,895 a year earlier, a fall of close to 36%.

The registration mark series followed the same path. By the end of July, the total number of series issued had reached 8,214, down from 14,361 at the same point in 2025.

The imported segment has been hit even harder

If new car buyers are hesitating, buyers of imported vehicles have pulled back further still.

According to Zaid Ameer, president of the Dealers in Imported Vehicles Association (DIVA), sales of imported vehicles have fallen by roughly 50%.

He attributes the drop largely to the erosion of household purchasing power, particularly among the middle class. Rising living costs, combined with the gradual reduction of certain incomes and benefits, have left many consumers with far less room to fund a vehicle purchase.

Even the most affordable imports now stretch tight budgets. Popular entry choices such as the Toyota Yaris and Nissan March sit between Rs 850,000 and Rs 900,000, while higher-end models can climb beyond Rs 1.5 million.

Why buyers are holding back

For Mrinal Teelock, Secretary General of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Association (MVDA), none of this comes as a surprise. He points to the sharp rise in excise duties announced in the 2025-2026 Budget as the main driver, and notes that the MVDA had predicted exactly this outcome.

Purchasing habits are shifting as a result. Buyers are gravitating towards the cheapest models on offer, typically those priced under Rs 1.5 million. As Teelock points out, the vehicles now considered affordable are often models that were once seen as entry-level.

The premium segment has felt the sharpest pull-back, with many buyers postponing their plans altogether. "Customers don't have flexible budgets," he observes.

The pressure on dealers

A contraction of this scale does not stop at the showroom door. Dealers are carrying the same fixed costs while their sales fall away.

Teelock describes drops of between 36% and 70% depending on the segment, a swing that places real strain on dealer finances when overheads stay exactly where they were.

What it means for buyers and sellers

Taken together, the picture is of a new and imported market recalibrating under pressure rather than one simply cooling off. Demand has retreated on both fronts, and affordability now sits at the centre of almost every purchase decision.

For buyers, that makes comparison more important than ever. When budgets are stretched, the gap between models, prices and conditions is what separates a sensible purchase from an expensive one.

For sellers, the challenge is reaching a cautious, value-focused audience that is shopping carefully and taking its time.

This is where a marketplace view earns its keep.AutoCloud.mu brings new, imported and pre-owned listings together in one place, so buyers can weigh their options across all three segments, and sellers can reach people who are genuinely looking. As we noted in ourmid-2026 look at the market, the choice available on the platform has continued to deepen, which matters more than ever when every rupee counts.

The road ahead

The new and imported segments will not recover their momentum until household confidence does. Until then, every purchase comes down to one thing: value. Browse new, imported and pre-owned listings on AutoCloud.mu to see where that value sits in today's market.