Two South African deputy ministers spent R3.8 million on car rentals in one year, and a national shutdown tomorrow

Petrol and diesel prices are set to increase by more than R3 per litre in October 2026, pushing the price of both fuels past the R30 per litre mark.

Data from the Central Energy Fund shows that petrol is experiencing an under-recovery of between R2.87 and R3.06 per litre, while diesel is facing an under-recovery of between R2.69 and R3.10 per litre.

Global oil prices have surged since the beginning of September, with Brent Crude climbing from $86 per barrel to $108 per barrel this week.

Oil rose again this week due to a lack of progress in US-Iran talks to end the war in the Middle East, and higher global demand outweighing production levels.

Saudi Arabia has restored half of the flow levels through its East-West pipeline after drone strikes halted operations earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Capitec has won a battle over an R2.4-million Porsche after a case made its way to the Supreme Court of Appeal when a Sandton family health centre stopped paying R31,000 per month for the vehicle.

5 important things

Passenger trains making a comeback in one of South Africa’s biggest cities: The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa is investing R11 billion in projects to enhance passenger rail services across the country, including a R2 billion rehabilitation programme in Durban. [TopAuto].

National shutdown hitting South Africa this week: Protest Group March and March is planning another day of mass protests on Wednesday, 30 September, similar to the one it held on 30 June earlier this year. The protests are primarily aimed at illegal immigrants; however, the group said it is adding the recent murders of 12 women to its list of calls to action. The 30 September date is not supported by any official government channels. [BusinessTech].

Two South African deputy ministers spent R3.8 million on car rentals in one year: The Minister in the Presidency revealed that Deputy Ministers Nonceba Mhlauli and Kenneth Morolong and their teams spent R6.4 million on travel in the 2025/2026 year. The single largest expense was car rentals, which totalled R876,607.03 for Mhlauli and R2.93 million for Morolong. [Daily Investor].

iCAUR to introduce Long-Range Edition V27: Chery sub-brand iCAUR is preparing to launch a new version of its V27 REEV SUV in China with a larger 51.2kWh CATL battery, which provides a pure electric range of 215km on a single charge. The V27 is coming to South Africa, but this model has yet to be confirmed for our market. [CarNewsChina].

Toyota car sales fall for seventh month straight: Toyota’s global sales fell again last month, primarily due to low demand in China, where it is facing mounting competition from local electric car makers. Toyota and Lexus sales fell 23% in the world’s biggest auto market. [Bloomberg].