More bad news about petrol prices, and a warning about speeding fines

The Automobile Association (AA) of South Africa has expressed concern over Jetour’s recent announcement that the T1 and T2 SUVs have had their payload increased despite no mechanical changes.

The AA questioned how this was possible and whether Jetour had “marked their own homework” by supposedly increasing the payload capacity to address motorists’ biggest concern with the vehicles.

Both SUVs had an unusually low capacity of around 300kg, meaning they could be overloaded simply by having five adult occupants in the car. Jetour later announced that the official capacity was 475kg.

“This poses a significant safety risk to T1 and T2 occupants – a payload capacity cannot simply increase by almost 200kg with zero attention to structural integrity,” it added.

Oil prices dropped for a third day this week as traders look to the next round of diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran.

Brent Crude fell from $108 to $104 per barrel, though prices are still much higher than their pre-war levels of around $60 per barrel.

Saudi Arabia is moving to repair its damaged East-West oil pipeline to restore half its capacity.

US President Donald Trump is deliberating whether to re-escalate attacks on Tehran, with a meeting planned with Persian Gulf countries in New York next week.

5 important things

Warning for motorists paying speeding fines in South Africa: The Road Traffic Infringement Agency has warned motorists about an uptick in scams involving fake speeding fines. The scams are trying to take advantage of people’s unfamiliarity with the recently introduced AARTO laws. [TopAuto]

More bad news about petrol prices: Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, confirmed that there are no plans to implement another petrol price relief measure, even as the cost of fuel is expected to reach nearly R30 per litre in October. [BusinessTech]

9 months for a new battery in South Africa: The replacement battery modules for the Volvo EX30 crossovers with faulty units are set to arrive in the country imminently, nine months after the company issued the recall. [MyBroadband].

The fast-growing Japanese brand selling more cars than VW in South Africa: Suzuki has rapidly grown to become the nation’s second most popular car brand behind Toyota, selling more units than local giant Volkswagen. [Daily Investor].

Major carmaker planning to close factory: Stellantis told workers at its factory in Toronto that there is no long-term business case to make vehicles there and that it is looking to sell the location. The factory hasn’t produced any cars since late 2023. [Bloomberg].