R4.20 petrol price pain, and a company pays R745 million for 13 car dealerships in South Africa

South Africans whose driver’s licence cards are about to expire will still need to apply for a new 5-year licence, even though the country plans to extend the validity period to 10 years.

This week, the Department of Transport officially gazetted a proposed extension for the country’s driver’s licence cards from 5 to 10 years.

This applies to code A, A1, B, and EB licences, covering motorcycles and light vehicles. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles licences will still need to be renewed every 5 years.

The department stated that motorists are still expected to renew their licences for a 5-year card while it works to enact the extension.

Brent Crude oil prices are hovering around $92 per barrel today, marking the fifth day of consecutive gains.

US President Donald Trump said that the plan is “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale” to deal with Iran, and called on US allies to stand with it on this goal.

He warned that any country that allows businesses, government, or financial institutions to aid Iran will face severe economic consequences, which is relevant for South Africa, given that it has aligned itself with Iran on multiple occasions.

The rand has strengthened against the US dollar, trading at R16.10 per USD, following the release of new data showing headline inflation at 4.0%, lower than the 4.5% predicted by economists.

5 important things

R4.20 per litre pain for petrol prices in South Africa: Fuel price inflation is up 20.6% year-on-year with motorists paying R4.20 more for petrol in July 2026 compared to the same month last year. CPI inflation is set at 4.3% but would only be 3.7% if not for fuel prices. [TopAuto].

Company to pay R745 million for 13 car dealerships in South Africa: Combined Motor Holdings (CMH) is set to acquire 13 properties used by its dealerships from three of its executive directors and their associated family trusts. [BusinessTech].

Sale of FlySafair under fire: Cemair has petitioned the Competition Tribunal to prohibit the acquisition of Safair Holdings by Harith Aviation, which would see Harith acquire FlySafair from its current owner, the Irish company ASL Aviation Holdings. [Daily Investor].

BYD tries where others have failed in Japan: BYD has unveiled the Racco, a kei EV designed specifically for the Japanese market. This comes after several other foreign carmakers like Ford, GM, and Hyundai have all failed to persuade buyers to switch from Japanese brands. [Bloomberg].

Chinese car brand to produce cars at Volvo’s European plants: Geely, which owns a majority stake in Volvo, plans to produce luxury cars at its European factories starting in 2028. Volvo operates two plants in Sweden and Belgium, and an EV plant is under construction in Slovakia. [CarNewsChina].