A nice surprise for petrol prices in South Africa, and a first look inside Jaguar’s new car

Automotive body repairers in South Africa are having trouble with modern high-tech vehicles, as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and all-new sensors complicate repairs.

The introduction of more electric vehicles (EVs) into our market and the long list of conditions set by insurers are becoming major stumbling blocks for local panel beaters and mechanics.

Overnight, Brent Crude prices rose 0.81%, to $89.63 per barrel, following a more than one-dollar increase seen yesterday as hopes for a peace deal between the US and Iran began to fade.

The US and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis reportedly struck multiple ships in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, prompting Iran’s top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, to declare the route closed.

He said it will remain this way unless the US accepted Iran’s conditions for ending the war, including the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to other conflicts across the region.

Despite the rising tension in the region and a stronger US dollar, the rand/dollar exchange rate remained virtually unchanged overnight.

In fact, the rand strengthened ever so slightly against the greenback, improving from R16.20 to the American currency to R16.19 this morning, highlighting local investment optimism going forward.

5 important things

Nice surprise for South Africa’s petrol price: South Africa’s fuel price under-recoveries for next month may flatten out by the time the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources makes the official adjustments in the first week of September [TopAuto].

Chinese car brands eating WeBuyCars’ lunch: Highly competitive pricing from Chinese car brands has made new vehicles more attractive to buyers, luring them away from used cars from dealers such as WeBuyCars [Daily Investor].

Renault considering Clio reinvention and a next-generation 5 alongside new models: Renault is currently considering next-generation versions of both the 5 and Clio, but its CEO said the French manufacturer’s first objective is to add some purely new models to its existing line-up [Autocar].

German drivers accelerate switch to EVs due to Middle East war: More German drivers than ever are switching to electric vehicles due to the jump in fuel prices triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
A record 12% replaced their combustion-engine car with an EV in the second quarter, according to a survey for insurer Huk-Coburg published Tuesday [Bloomberg].

A first look inside Jaguar’s new EV, the Type 01: Jaguar is building a new electric vehicle (EV). Previously called ‘Type 00’, it has been renamed to ‘Type 01’, representing a fresh start for the storied British carmaker [Top Gear].