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IOL News
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Here's what companies with vehicle fleets need to do to prepare for AARTO in December
Corporate fleet will need to train their drivers on AARTO and also amend contracts. Image: Newspress Following countless delays, the Administrative Adjudication of Traffic Offences Act (AARTO) is now scheduled to launch nationally from December 2025. The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) announced last week that the new system would be rolled out in 69 municipalities across the country from December, with the remaining areas to follow in early 2026. However, it appears that the demerit points system, a core feature of AARTO, will only be phased in from September 2026. The demerit system could present numerous administrative challenges for businesses that run vehicle fleets, and managers have been urged to prepare for the ins and outs of AARTO ahead of the implementation date. Organisations in affected municipalities should have driver management systems, relevant training programmes and administrative processes in place to handle the complexities of AARTO by December, MasterDrive CEO Eugene Herbert advises. Given widespread concerns about corruption affecting AARTO, businesses should also identify how they will respond if they encounter corruption. 'Rather than protesting AARTO by refusing to prepare due to corruption concerns, there should be well-established mechanisms from day one to manage this. A lack of preparation is not an effective way to protest but will further reduce your ability to adapt should the implementation date remain on track,' Herbert said The Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) said companies need to understand their responsibilities and consider ways to protect themselves from possible liability relating to employees' driving offences. Although there is no proxy system when it comes to the demerit system, organisations are responsible for their vehicle fleets and should therefore ensure that a system is in place for company drivers to comply with AARTO. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'In many cases business owners serve as the representatives of the company on behalf of their fleet. While the AARTO Amendment Bill is quite clear that company representatives cannot lose points on behalf of company drivers, they have to ensure demerits accrue to the correct person,' the RMI said. Businesses must nominate the employee who drove the vehicle at the time of the alleged infringement within 32 days of the infringement notice being served. Failure to do so within this time frame will see the nomination option falling away. To that end, every company should appoint a person to take responsibility for traffic fine issues as well as licencing and roadworthiness. Companies will also be obliged, under law, to keep a register of the driver or person in control of their vehicles at all times. Importantly, AARTO clauses should also be included in the employment contracts of all employees who will be exposed to the demerit system, the RMI advises. This clause should also allow the company to access the employee's demerit history. While this might seem invasive, corporations can be held responsible if one of their employees drives a company vehicle after their license has been suspended due to them exceeding 12 demerit points. It's also worth noting, however, that there is currently no system in place whereby accrued demerit points can be monitored in a real-time database. 'Where an employee driver's licence has been cancelled, the employer may be able to institute disciplinary proceedings or incapacity proceedings against the employee where there is an appropriate policy in place,' law firm Bowmans advises. 'AARTO has significant ramifications for employers' business operations, and it becomes necessary for employers to understand the risks that could lead to them suffering loss and damages. It is imperative for employers to review and amend their policies and contracts of employment to accommodate the implications of AARTO,' the firm added. Regarding the nitty gritty, companies should review their insurance policies to understand how demerits might affect coverage, the RMI concludes. They should also ensure that address details on the eNatis record are correct and up to date so that infringement notices can be delivered to the correct person. IOL Motoring
IOL News
23-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Middle East tensions could see an increase in SA fuel prices
South African motorists may have to dig deeper into their pockets in July, as another potential fuel price hike looms. Image: Newspress South African motorists may have to dig deeper into their pockets in July, as another potential fuel price hike looms. According to mid-June data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF), Petrol 95 is under-recovering by about 47 cents per litre, and Petrol 93 by around 43 cents. Diesel prices are showing larger under-recoveries of approximately 69 and 71 cents per litre for the two types respectively. Illuminating paraffin is also under-recovering by roughly 57 cents per litre. An under-recovery occurs when fuel levies do not fully cover the rising global oil prices and currency fluctuations, resulting in higher pump prices to compensate for the shortfall. These are only projections based on mid-month data and not final figures. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy will confirm the official prices just before they take effect in July. The situation is a result of a sharp jump in Brent crude prices because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. The conflict began last week when Israel launched strikes against Iran, targeting its nuclear and military facilities. These strikes resulted in the deaths of the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and several top nuclear scientists. The situation was made worse when the US joined the war by launching an attack on Iranian nuclear sites with US President Donald Trump saying they had "totally obliterated" Iran's main nuclear sites. "Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success," Trump said. According to Oxford Economics since the war began Brent crude oil prices spiked by over 10%. Oxford Economics is a "leading global economic advisory firm, providing data-driven insights and forecasts". "The Brent crude oil price spiked by over 10% as the conflict started and remains elevated in the $70-$78 per barrel range at the time of writing, well above pre-escalation levels. "The most severe scenario is a closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Around one-third of all seaborne oil passes through this chokepoint, and a shutdown would freeze oil exports from Kuwait and Qatar, and restrict exports from Iraq, the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia". [email protected] IOL Business Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel
IOL News
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Precious minerals shipped away: Why SA wants to incentivise local production of EV batteries
Government wants to see EV batteries produced in South Africa. Image: Newspress South Africa is considering expanding its vehicle production incentive programme to encourage the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the country. This would see the ITAC trade commission adding certain locally mined minerals to the list of items that qualify as local content under the Automotive Production Development Programme (APDP), reported. This list could be expanded to include materials such as lithium, copper, graphite, cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate and other rare earth minerals. South Africa is a significant producer of minerals such as manganese, nickel, cobalt, lithium and platinum. Building batteries in the country would help to maximise the value extracted from these precious minerals. The government is also said to be considering increasing the customs duties on EV batteries, in order to further encourage local production, Xagta added. However, this move could backfire if a manufacturer is interested in producing EVs in South Africa, but does not wish to use locally produced batteries. It could mean losing the entire vehicle production contract rather than just foregoing production of the battery components. The APDP operates through a system of rebates and refunds on specific customs duties, and is aimed at incentivising local production of vehicles. Following the publication of the Electric Vehicle White Paper in late 2023, South Africa has already taken concrete steps to incentivise the local production of electric vehicles. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ From March 2026, car companies will be able to claim a 150% tax deduction on investments related to EV production in South Africa. This includes new production equipment and factory upgrades made with the intention of producing EVs. The new incentive programme will run until March 2036. The South African automotive sector produces over 500,000 vehicles per year. While plug-in hybrid vehicles are produced for export by both BMW and Ford, no fully electric vehicles are currently produced locally. A move to full EV production could be critical to the survival of the local industry, given that the European Union, which is South Africa's main export destination, plans to ban the sale of new internal combustion engined vehicles from 2025. Some manufacturers, such as Volkswagen, are reluctant to invest in the local production of EVs unless there is a significant local demand for such vehicles. Although President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in late 2024 that EV purchase incentives will be introduced, no timelines or details have been released as yet. Currently, EVs attract a higher import duty than internal combustion vehicles, with rates of 25% compared to 18%. IOL
IOL News
04-06-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Petrol vs Diesel vs Hybrid vs Electric: These are the ins and outs of each vehicle type
Electric vehicles remain an uncommon sight in South Africa, but hybrids are gaining in popularity. Image: Newspress With the advent of hybrid and electric powertrains, buying a vehicle has become a far more complicated equation. Do I pay more for something with an electric motor, and save on fuel costs down the line? It's still not an easy question to answer as there are many variables involved with each specific model range, but it helps to gain an understanding of the various propulsion systems and where they fare best. Internal combustion engines: the traditional way Petrol and diesel engines, commonly labelled as internal combustion (ICE), have powered cars since the beginning, and they remain the mainstay of the motor industry, as in most instances they're still more affordable than hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs). A petrol engine is typically the least efficient propulsion type. Although they can be relatively economical at constant highway speeds in higher gears, they are generally thirsty in town driving scenarios. Stop-start driving, where the lower gears are used, is when a petrol engine is at its least efficient because the engine needs to attain high revs in order to move the car off the mark, which takes a great deal more energy than cruising at freeway speeds at lower revs. Diesel engines have a more efficient combustion process that extracts more energy from the fuel, allowing them to produce more power and torque at lower revs, but because they require more sophisticated technology and often bigger engine sizes in order to achieve the same outputs as their petrol equivalents, they tend to be more expensive to purchase. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading The Kia Seltos is one of the few affordable passenger cars still available with a diesel engine. Image: Supplied For instance, a Kia Seltos 1.5 CRDI LX turbodiesel costs R29,000 more than its normally petrol equivalent, which has the same power output. But the diesel offers better fuel consumption, at a claimed 5.2 litres per 100km versus 6.3 for the petrol, and more torque (250Nm versus 144Nm), which is good for low-rev cruising and hill climbing. Diesels have become less common in the passenger vehicle market, however, as their higher levels of particulate matter make it harder for them to meet global emissions standards. Understanding hybrid powertrains and their many variations Hybrids often claim to offer the best of both worlds. This powertrain type is typically abbreviated to HEV, which stands for hybrid electric vehicle. With an extra dash of romance, Fiat likes to use the 'Ibrida' title, which means hybrid in Italian. Is there anything that doesn't sound appealing in Italian? But in fairness, not all hybrids are born equal, and quite frankly, not all of them truly deserve that title. So-called 'mild hybrids' are often a point of contention. Operating a 48-volt electrical system, rather than the 12-volt set-up typically found in regular ICE cars, mild-hybrids replace the starter motor and alternator with an electric motor and small battery. Although the e-motor provides a small performance boost, the fuel economy gains tend to be negligible at best as these systems more often than not do not propel the car on electric power alone. They do however make a small difference by using recuperated energy to power some of the car's electrical components, and even the air conditioning in some cases, easing the strain on the engine. Yet regular 'self-charging' hybrid systems like the one found in South Africa's best-selling HEV, the Toyota Corolla Cross, often hit a sweet spot for consumers. The Corolla Cross is Mzansi's most popular hybrid. Image: Supplied Like diesel engines, they tend to cost more than their petrol counterparts, for the benefit of better fuel consumption, but it's important to understand the scenarios in which each engine type operates at its most efficient. Hybrids typically pair a petrol engine with one or more electric motors, which power the car together or alone depending on the circumstances. For instance, the Corolla Cross 1.8 HEV has a 53kW electric motor that can power the vehicle alone at lower speeds, in lower gears, thus taking the strain off of the petrol motor when it's at its least efficient. Toyota claims a combined fuel consumption figure of 4.3 l/100km for the hybrid, in ideal test laboratory conditions, versus 6.8 for the regular 1.8-litre petrol model, which is R38,200 cheaper in XS trim. But that doesn't tell the full story. In our month-long road test of the Corolla Cross HEV, our test unit consumed a shade over 6.0 litres per 100km in town driving scenarios and 5.6 l/100km on a 1200km highway trip. Notice the small gap between those figures? Normally an SUV of this size would consume well over 9.0 l/100km in town. But the highway figure, while still impressive, is not significantly better than what a conventional ICE engine would achieve. That's because the lack of braking at constant highway speeds results in limited energy recuperation, meaning the e-motor can't do as much of the work as it would in town. The bottom line is that hybrid vehicles will hit the sweetest spot for those who do most of their driving in urban environments, while a diesel engine would still be better suited to those doing a great deal of longer-distance driving. Sadly, the Corolla Cross is not offered with a diesel. Plug-in hybrids: having your cake and eating it? The city driving advantage of a hybrid is amplified further when it comes to the plug-in type, otherwise known as a PHEV. These work much like the aforementioned regular hybrids, but have much bigger batteries that typically allow these vehicles to cover anything from 50km to 100km on electric power alone. In fact Volvo's upcoming Ultra PHEV models promise electric coverage of up to 200km. Volvo is a big player in the PHEV space. Image: Supplied Keep in mind that the 'claimed' range figures will differ greatly, depending on the mixture of urban and freeway driving, and of course, your driving style. But theoretically, and provided that you charge your PHEV on a regular basis, you could do your daily commuting on electric power alone, while the petrol engine waits in the wings for that odd long-distance trip to the coast. It is a bit like having your cake and eating it, depending on what your needs are. A PHEV could actually work to your detriment if you do a significant amount of long-distance driving. Because they have heavy batteries to lug around, once the battery power has been depleted, these vehicles are often less efficient than regular ICE vehicles at highway speeds. Bottom line: If you own a trendy coffee shop downtown - assuming you're not already cruising around on a bicycle with a basket - a PHEV could make a great deal of sense. But if you're the Chief Rep from Pep, best you stick to that diesel. The other thing to consider is that PHEVs are more expensive than conventional hybrids and ICE vehicles. The least costly option at present is the BYD Sealion, starting at R639,900, but most other options are positioned north of R1 million. Thankfully there is a slew of new Chinese contenders heading to South Africa this year, which will likely make PHEV ownership more accessible. Nonetheless, a PHEV is by default a performance model, because its ICE and electric motors both need to power the vehicle individually at higher speeds, so unlike a conventional hybrid, smaller motors are out of the question. The ins and outs of an electric car Fully electric cars, commonly referred to as EVs, are solely powered by electric motors and have far bigger batteries than PHEVs and HEVs, sometimes with capacities exceeding 80 kWh. Compared to ICE vehicles, EVs offer minimal running costs, with Nedbank estimating an at-home charging cost of around R200 for a full battery. The relative simplicity of e-motors also makes these vehicles cheaper to maintain. But as with PHEVs, electric cars are really expensive to buy. BYD ATTO 3 crossover. Image: Supplied The least costly EV option in 2025 is the Dayun S5, at R399,900, which in fairness is best suited to city driving, while the family sized BYD Atto 3 family-sized SUV is perhaps the most viable real-world option at R768,000, not forgetting the Polo-sized BYD Dolphin at R539,900. While some of the smaller EVs offer claimed range figures of around 300km between charges, most products nowadays claim to cover 400km or more, but keep in mind that real-world range figures will differ radically depending on your driving style and driving scenario. When it comes to efficiency, an EV is very much the exact opposite of an ICE vehicle as the former is far more efficient in urban driving scenarios. This is because stop-start driving maximises energy recuperation from braking, which helps extend your range bit-by-bit. Quite telling was a recent real-world range test conducted by AutoTrader at the Gerotek high-speed oval. At a constant speed of 117km/h, the BMW iX1 took 238km to deplete its battery from 90% to 10%, emulating real-world battery usage. The BMW's claimed range figure is 440km on a full battery. At similar speeds the Volvo XC40 Recharge covered 214km/h and the Mercedes EQA 250 managed 254km/h, versus their claimed range figures of 460km and 402km. Keep this in mind when planning that trip to Durban. In fairness, companies such as GridCars and Charge are constantly expanding the country's rural charging network and in time, long-distance driving will become less of an obstacle to EV ownership. For now, purchase price remains the biggest hurdle to electric motoring, and until the government follows the lead of other countries by offering purchase incentives, or even equalising the import duties with ICE vehicles, EVs will remain a small niche in this country. Home charging, with South Africa's patchy electricity grid, also remains an obstacle for potential consumers, although ultimately, reaping the environmental advantages of EV ownership should ideally mean having a solar infrastructure at home. Because what's the point of a coal-powered car? Assess your needs Although this was by no means a thorough technical explanation of the differences between ICE, hybrid and electric vehicles - such a feature could take up a novel - we do hope that it provides a bit of insight into the ins and outs of each particular propulsion type. Remember to shop around, assess your needs and take the 'official' fuel consumption figures and range estimates provided by manufacturers, with a pinch of salt. IOL
IOL News
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
How fast do people drive between cities? Here's how the countries rank, including ‘speedy' SA
South Africa falls within the 20 fastest countries for average long-distance speeds. Image: Newspress How fast do people drive between cities? Here's how the countries rank, including 'speedy' South Africa South Africans are known for having a heavy right foot when they're behind the wheel, but when it comes to average driving speeds, we're not the fastest drivers in the world. According to an international study conducted by MoneySuperMarket, drivers from the USA have the fastest average speed when driving between cities, at 109.5km/h. Of the 140 countries sampled, South Africa ranks 17th with an average long-distance speed of 93.6km/h. How did they come to that conclusion? World's average long-distance driving speeds. Image: MoneySuperMarket The researchers plotted routes between each country's three biggest cities, using Google Routes API, and tested six times on both Mondays and Saturdays. The average speed across these journeys was used to calculate long-distance travel speed. Canada came second in the long-distance ranking, with an average speed of 107.9km/h, followed by Oman (104.7km/h), Croatia (102.9km/h) and France (101.5km/h). Hungary, China, Spain, Iraq and Italy rounded out the top 10. Interestingly, Germany, with its expansive Autobahns known for their unrestricted sections that are a speedster's paradise, came 16th in the ranking, just before South Africa, with a speed of 93.9km/h. The slowest countries in the world, for long distance driving, are Mauritania (22.9km/h), Malta (23km/h) and Andorra (29.4km/h). 'The countries with the slowest average long-range driving speeds do not typically lend themselves well to high-speed long-distance driving; for the case of countries like The Gambia and Haiti, poor road conditions, such as potholes, as well as older vehicles and more agricultural traffic are likely to increase congestion and make travelling slower,' the researchers said. The study also ranked the fastest average urban driving speeds around the world, with Estonia topping the list at 46.6km/h, followed by Brunei (46.3km/h) and Equatorial Guinea (44.9km/h). South Africa ranked 14th for urban speeds, at 38km/h, while Namibia took 17th place at 37.1km/h. 'Many of the countries in the top 10 for fastest urban average driving speeds have a lower density of cars on the road, resulting in less congestion and allowing drivers to reach greater speeds - though no countries' average driving speed breaks above 50km/h,' the researchers concluded. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel IOL
