Johannesburg - It’s been a tough few months for most South Africans, with the Covid-19 lockdown having all but ravaged the economy, but if there has been one silver lining it’s lower fuel prices.
Following April’s petrol price decreases of between R1.76 and R1.88 a litre, May 6 will see another massive plunge, with both grades of petrol falling by R1.74 a litre and diesel by R1.56.
This means a litre of 95 Unleaded petrol now costs R11.52 at the coast and R12.22 inland, where the more sensible 93 Unleaded option is now listed at R12.02.
With Level 4 lockdown restrictions now allowing more movement, depending on how essential your vocation is deemed, more motorists will be feeling the benefits of these decreases.
But how much exactly will you save on a tank?
We did the sums on 15 popular vehicle ranges currently on sale in South Africa and the amounts are fairly significant.
While those driving smaller cars like the Volkswagen Polo will pay around R60 less per tank, people in bakkies like the Ford Ranger or Toyota Hilux are saving R117, albeit with less mileage per litre. But the real gravity of the recent price plunges become apparent when we compare May’s prices to those in March. Suddenly Polo drivers are paying R126 less than they were two months earlier, while those in Hiluxes are saving R218.
* Estimated refuel quantity = maximum tank capacity minus five litres
Because it’s safe to assume you’re not going to arrive at the fuel pump with a completely dry tank, we subtracted five litres off the tank capacity of each vehicle in the list. Thus if the Polo has a 40 litre tank capacity, our calculation was based on 35 litres. Unfortunately we were unable to calculate fill-up prices for diesel vehicles as diesel prices are deregulated, meaning they differ from forecourt to forecourt.
According to the Department of Energy, the price cuts are mostly due to a fall in the price of Brent Crude oil, which decreased from $35.2 to $20 per barrel during the month of April. This was enough to offset depreciation of the South African rand, which fell from R16.43 to R18.47 per US dollar.