Press Releases

Drone strikes on Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil refinery have wrought chaos on world oil markets and made the forecasting of the oil price more difficult. This is according to the Automobile Association (AA), which was commenting on unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund. "The refinery strike was a game-changer for the way oil price stability is viewed. At a...

South African fuel prices are set to climb in October in the wake of the mid-September drone attacks on the Abqaiq oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. This is according to the Automobile Association (AA), which says that although oil prices ticked up in the first two weeks of September, the impact of the attacks caused a further sharp price spike. The current picture predicts an increase of around 19...

Lower international oil prices throughout June have set up a substantial fuel price drop for July, and the reduction could have been greater had it not been for the Rand. This is according to the unaudited month-end fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund. We are expecting petrol to drop by 86 cents a litre, diesel by 68 cents, and illuminating paraffin by 58 cents next month. June...

Identifying uncorrected poor vision as a key road safety challenge, Essilor, the world leader in ophthalmic optics, and the Automobile Association (AA) have joined forces to launch a series of initiatives to improve road safety by improving road users’ vision. During the FIA World Conference, held from 29 April to 3 May 2019 at Sun City, The Automobile Association of South Africa, a member of...

The 2019 Automobile Association (AA) Entry-Level Vehicle Safety Report that assesses safety features on entry-level vehicles shows there have been improvements to the safety of entry-level vehicles, but that more can and must be done in this market. This is the third instalment of this report. The 2019 report considered the safety features of 27 vehicles available in South Africa currently...

While the Rand has won ground against the US dollar in July, international oil prices have increased, offsetting the Rand's gains. This is according to the unaudited monthly fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund. The Rand has progressively appreciated against the US dollar since 1 July, dipping below the R14 to the dollar mark. However, international oil prices, which pulled back...

The end of the year may still be six months away but if you are going to be travelling anywhere – either locally or abroad – you should start your planning now. This is the advice of the Automobile Association’s (AA) Travel Department. “Six months may sound like a long time but, in reality, it will go past quickly. If you discover in October or November that some of your preparations are behind...

Don’t become a statistic this Easter. This is our message to you – ahead of the Easter long weekend which starts on Friday (19 April 2019). We are appealing to South Africans to be vigilant, focussed, and aware while on the country’s roads either while walking, cycling, riding a motorcycle or in a vehicle. While this year’s Easter period doesn’t coincide with government school holidays, traffic...

FIA President, Mr Jean Todt (left), and South African Minister of Transport, Dr Blade Nzimande, during the inaugural trip on the autonomous, fully electric Navya Shuttle, demonstrated for the first time at Sun City on Monday, 29 April. The Navya Autonomous Electric Shuttle will allow delegates to commute between the different venues for the duration of the Conference, which ends on 3 May....

Fuel data for May is showing a listless fuel price picture. This is according to the unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund. The overall picture is of little change. The Rand has slipped marginally by thirteen cents against the US dollar since the Department of Energy's surprise early announcement of the May fuel price on Sunday, April 28. The international oil...

Variable international oil prices, and an equally unpredictable Rand/US dollar exchange rate, have combined to provide a mixed picture for fuel prices in June according to the unaudited month-end data released by the Central Energy Fund. International oil prices have been up and down in May. The basic petrol price has traded between 740 and 780 cents a litre, which averages out 19 cents lower...

Global NCAP and the Automobile Association of South Africa launch the third round of #SaferCarsForAfrica crash test results today with the welcome support of the FIA Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The three models tested show reasonable safety performance for adult occupants but disappointing results for child occupant protection. The models tested by Global NCAP are the Toyota Avanza,...