How much it costs to drive South Africa’s most popular cars after the February petrol price hike

With oil prices topping $90 a barrel and expected to climb to $100 a barrel in 2022, motorists once again saw petrol and diesel price hikes at the pumps this week.

Petrol climbed by 53 cents a litre, diesel is up by 80 cents a litre, and illuminating paraffin increased by a whopping R1.01 cents a litre.

The February increases have pushed fuel prices in South Africa close to the record highs experienced in December 2021. Going into February, 95 octane petrol inland costs R20.14/l with the same fuel costing R19.42/l at the coast; both fuels are just 15 cents off record highs in December.

“The large increase in illuminating paraffin in particular will hit poor people hard, as many of them rely on this fuel for lighting, heating and cooking,” the Automobile Association said.

The major factor in the latest hike is the rapid strengthening of benchmark crude oil prices.

“The last time Brent Crude touched current levels was in October 2014, more than seven years ago. A combination of factors is pushing oil higher, not least the imbalance between supply and demand as the lower-than-expected economic impact of the Omicron Covid-19 variant pushes economic activity higher, and crude production lags.

“In addition, there are political jitters around the Ukraine, which could see a switch to increased oil use throughout the EU if Russia restricts natural gas output in response to sanctions threatened by the USA and United Kingdom.”

This is how the prices will reflect at the pumps when factoring in the slate levy and other costs.

The table below shows how much you pay to fill up your car’s tank with 95 and 93 unleaded inland in January.