Bad news for anyone renewing their car licence in South Africa, and BMW kills the 8 Series

Following approval from President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO) took effect on 1 July 2026.

Since then, motorists face new speeding fines in 62 South African municipalities, starting at  R400 for travelling 11km/h over the limit, reaching up to R3,200 for speeds just below the arrestable threshold.

Global Brent Crude oil prices fell back to below $94 per barrel this morning, despite ongoing conflict between the US and Iran.

The US has threatened “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran, while President Donald Trump has extended this threat to the nation’s trading partners.

Iran condemned America’s plans to announce these sanctions even as President Masoud Pezeshkian called for a diplomatic solution.

Undeterred, the South African rand continued to strengthen against the US dollar, reaching R16.01 per USD, signalling continued faith in the local market alongside investors avoiding US bonds.

5 important things

Bad news for anyone renewing their car licence in South Africa: The number of vehicle licence disc renewal services available to South African motorists has declined in recent years. The tedious process has created opportunities for several third-party providers to enter the space. However, many of these companies have discontinued their services [TopAuto].

Tesla recalls 3 million EVs in China over door handle safety: Tesla and at least eight other automakers are recalling millions of cars in China over safety concerns with their door handles.
More than 4 million vehicles are affected as part of the broad crackdown, one of the most sweeping recalls ever in the world’s biggest auto market [Bloomberg].

BMW killed any hopes of a new 8 Series: BMW ended production of the second-generation 8 Series in April 2026, and there’s still no obvious replacement on the horizon [Motor1.com].

Criminals targeting another group of people in South Africa: Criminals are targeting e-hailing drivers in South Africa daily, with dash cameras increasingly bringing incidents into the public spotlight [BusinessTech].

Meet the man who bought a Ferrari Luce for $40m: Billionaire Herbie Wertheim – owner of Brain Power Inc., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of optical tints and ophthalmic chemicals – spent $40 million on Ferrari’s Luce ‘Chassis 0’ [TopGear].