Page 1 - 05 December 2025

This interesting suggestion of a new petrol tax proposal by
Rob Handfield-Jones (Driving.co.za managing director) is
thought provoking. With thanks to www.topauto.co.za
“Declared mileage could
New Petrol Tax easily be recorded on e-Natis
and spot-checked at the
roadside by traffic officers.”
Proposal for He added that enforcement
would be simple, and that
failure to declare the correct
South Africa mileage would be con-
sidered a form of tax evasion.
Furthermore, SARS existing
South Africa should scrap countries, not an ineffective enforcement powers would
the litre-based Road state monopoly,” he said. be able to combat this
Accident Fund (RAF) Levy The RAF receives approxi- b e h a v i o u r, c l a i m e d
and General Fuel Levy (GFL) mately R48 billion annually Handfield-Jones.
We thought that the following article may be of interest and replace them with a new but is technically bankrupt The law could also be
to our readers. With thanks to www.businesstech.co.za and per-kilometre tax based on and has undisclosed amended so that modern
vehicle weight and distance
Malcolm Libera liabilities of R500 billion. vehicles with connectivity
covered.
It is currently being functions could report their
This is the opinion of investigated by Parliament's m i l e a g e t o t h e t a x
Driving.co.za managing Standing Committee on authorities.
director Rob Handfield- Public Accounts (SCOPA) Damage escalation for
Jones, who argues that this for severe governance heavier vehicles
new solution would make failures. This could potentially lead to
fuel taxes fairer while also Fo r m e r C E O C o l l i n s SCOPA laying criminal
addressing the growing Letsoalo was issued a charges against Letsoalo
adoption of new energy summons to appear before over his refusal to appear
vehicles (NEVs).
SCOPA on 25 November, before it and ignoring an
According to the National which he failed to answer. official summons.
By Malcolm Libera consistently attractive to The popularity of these Automobile Association of Letsoalo also disputed the
29 November 2025 criminals. vehicles is a major factor in South Africa (Naamsa), a Instead he appeared on the previous reports that he had
SABC's Face The Nation,
The Volkswagen Polo Vivo is why they are targeted. total of 11,952 NEVs have
A new list compiled using Naamsa's sales data shows where he stated that he dropped off the radar.
data from insurance and one of South Africa's most that most cars on the list been sold in the first nine would not attend the This comes after the sheriff
tracking companies has widely driven cars, and its rank among the best-selling months of 2025, a year-on- “kangaroo court.” delivering the summons
identified 10 cars targeted by parts are always in high models in South Africa. year increase of 9%. Handfield-Jones expressed found the address Collins
hijackers in South Africa, demand. In particular, plug-in hybrid doubt that the government used to communicate with
which include relatively new The Toyota Fortuner has also High sales mean high (PHEV) sales have shot up would ever give up the GFL parliament to be abandoned
targets such as the Kia been a favourite among demand for parts, and this over the last year, increasing or ringfence it for road with no furniture and an
Picanto, the Isuzu D-Max, syndicates because it is easy creates opportunities for 274% from 477 to 1,784 repairs and maintenance, overgrown lawn.
and the Toyota Corolla to resell or strip for criminal networks involved in sales. since it is an easy-to-collect Per-litre vs per-kilometre
Cross. components. chop shops and illegal These cars are capable of and lucrative source of Handfield-Jones explained
vehicle sales.
The latest South African What is new this year is the fully electric driving and can revenue. that the current fuel levy
Police Service (SAPS) crime appearance of the Kia MoneyToday noted that theoretically be driven for However, he argued that the collections suggest that an
statistics recorded 4,533 Picanto, Isuzu D-Max, and vehicles on the most-stolen months without the need to GFL needs to be revamped average of R6,923 is paid per
hijackings in the most recent Toyota Corolla Cross. list typically face higher refuel. from a per-litre to per- car per year.
three-month period. Security company Blue insurance premiums. As NEVs become more kilometre tax, which would However, a per-km tax would
Although this reflects a Hawk Tactical warned in Drivers of these cars often widespread, the govern- also address the rapid could include a built-in
15.1% year-on-year decline, September that a criminal pay 15% to 30% more for ment's GFL revenue will adoption of NEVs. damage escalator based on
the numbers are still group had been specifically insurance and may be decline. “The government might do weight, as heavier vehicles
worryingly high. The SAPS targeting Corolla Cross required to install tracking As the fourth-largest source well to mitigate it before it cause more damage to the
currently sees about 50 vehicles across Gauteng for units or other security of general tax revenue for the b e c o m e s s u d d e n l y road.
cases of hijackings every several months. devices before their policy is state, this could create a catastrophic by moving to an “A 56-tonne rig does a lot
day. Wahl Bartmann, CEO of approved. significant budget shortfall entirely new vehicle tax more pavement damage
Using data from police, Fidelity Services Group, However, while these ten for South Africa. regime which is no longer than a motorcycle for the
security companies, and previously told Business cars are the most frequently While Electric vehicle (EV) linked to fuel use,” he said. same mileage,” Handfield-
major insurance and Tech that criminals prefer targeted, no vehicle is drivers pay 15% VAT on the “Since one is required to Jones explained.
tracking firms, MoneyToday cars that “blend in” and can completely safe. electricity they use to charge state the mileage of a vehicle “I estimate cars [for personal
published a list of the most move through traffic without their batteries, the effective at every yearly licence transport] would probably
stolen cars for 2025. drawing attention. The number of hijackings cost of R15 per R100 is renewal, my solution would pay about R5,400 per year.
involving a specific model Working on a basis of
According to MoneyToday, He said vehicles like the should always be considered roughly half the contribution be to charge a per-kilometre 15,000km travelled per year,
the cars most commonly Corolla Cross, especially in alongside how many of of the GFL and RAF Levy, tax every year in arrears.” t h a t ' s 3 6 c e n t s p e r
targeted are: common colours such as those cars are on the road. according to MyBroadband. A per-km tax, also known as kilometre.”
white or silver, are appealing “If local takeup of EVs
• Toyota Hilux In other words, a car may a distance-based road user Even if an additional 5c per
• Volkswagen Polo Vivo because they are popular appear frequently in reaches the exponential charge (RUC), is currently km surcharge was ring-
and easy to hide among
• Toyota Fortuner hijacking statistics simply curve seen in places like being trialed in countries like fenced for road main-
• Ford Ranger everyday traffic. because there are many of Norway, alongside mass Australia and the United tenance, the total charge of
• Hyundai H100 Once stolen, the cars are them in circulation. adoption of rooftop PV, fuel States. 41c per km or R513 per
• Nissan NP200, either stripped for parts or tax and VAT revenue could Handfield-Jones explained month would be nearly the
• Kia Picanto illegally re-registered and Bartmann told Business crash quite dramatically.” the per-km tax would be a same amount as the
• Toyota Corolla Cross sold. Tech that overall hijacking He believes that South Africa great example of govern- currently paid amount in fuel
• Isuzu D-Max The latest trends and how to numbers have remained should scrap the RAF Levy, ment applying its often- tax.
• BMW 3 Series. avoid becoming a target relatively stable in recent which currently adds R2.18 punted “user pay” principle. “Perhaps the amount could
months. There was a slight to every litre of petrol.
Many of these models have Since its launch in 2021, the “Let them put their money even be collected monthly
appeared on hijacking lists Corolla Cross has become decline from August to I n s t e a d , i n s u r a n c e , where their mouth is and rather than requiring an
for years. The Toyota Hilux, one of the top-selling September, followed by a including third-party cover actually tax road users annual lump sum payment,
small increase in October
Ford Ranger, and Nissan vehicles in the country, for injuries, should be according to how much they with an adjustment at year's
N P 2 0 0 a r e p o p u l a r frequently ranking among 2025. mandatory for all vehicles. drive in what type of vehicle, end, much like the PAYE
workhorse vehicles with high the top four best-selling cars See full article on their “It should be a private not what energy source they system,” Handfield-Jones
resale value, making them in 2025. website. requirement as it is in other use,” he said. said.