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Final Up to date on: 18th August 2025, 10:56 am
Within the first 6 months of this yr, 788 PHEVs have been bought in South Africa. In the entire of 2024, 737 PHEVs have been bought in 2024, up 100% from 368 models bought in 2023. Nonetheless, PHEVs nonetheless solely made up 0.14% of whole car gross sales in South Africa in 2024. Taking a look at these numbers, we are able to see that extra PHEVs have been bought in H1 2025 in South Africa than in the entire of 2024! The introduction of recent fashions from Chery, Omoda, Jaecoo, and Haval has performed an enormous half on this. Chery’s PHEVs made up 27% of all PHEVs bought in South Africa in H1 of 2025. BMW nonetheless leads the best way with 48% of the PHEV market throughout that interval. There’s a rising variety of plug-in hybrids with electrical ranges above 100 km that are actually being provided in South Africa by these Chinese language producers and these appear to be successful over some shoppers.
Amongst the Chinese language manufacturers, Chery seems to be main this transition, providing plug-in hybrids at affordable costs, and the South African market appears to be responding effectively to this. These provide shoppers extra worth than the older era PHEVs from another markets that had electrical ranges of lower than 40 km in actual driving circumstances. Lots of people commute between Pretoria, Centurion, Midrand, and Johannesburg, and PHEVs with an actual vary of over 90km will provide nice worth. Lots of people now even have photo voltaic at residence and charging these PHEVs with photo voltaic makes the worth proposition financially stronger. Because of Chery & Co, there are extra PHEV choices with first rate all electrical vary obtainable now in South Africa, and this might be one of many essential causes driving the expansion in gross sales, whereas a couple of years in the past, the few PHEV fashions obtainable principally had actual electrical ranges of round 50km and under.
Sadly, gross sales of BEVs look to be stagnating and never seeing the identical explosive progress we’re seeing in South Africa’s PHEV market. Within the first six months of 2025, simply 570 BEVs have been bought in South Africa. That’s about half of the whole variety of BEVs bought in South Africa in the entire of 2024. 515,712 automobiles have been bought in South Africa in 2024 and just one,257 BEVs have been bought in 2024. That’s nonetheless very low! With solely 3,212 BEVs bought since 2018, it’s clear to see that gross sales of BEVs have been gradual in South Africa. Let’s check out which BEVs topped South Africa’s BEV charts in H1 of 2025.
The Volvo EX30 which topped the BEV charts in 2024 maintained its lead, promoting essentially the most models within the first 6 months of 2025 as effectively. 70 models of the Volvo EX30 have been bought throughout the first 6 months of 2025 in South Africa, adopted by 54 models of the Mercedes-Benz EQE. In third place was the Mercedes-Benz EQB, with 50 models, adopted by the MINI Aceman with 45 models. The BMW iX1 rounded up the highest 5 with 35 models. Curiously, Mercedes-Benz had two fashions within the high 5, each with podium finishes, which is commendable given the truth that the highest 5 positions have been historically dominated by the BMW group, and most not too long ago by the BMW Group and Volvo Automobiles for the reason that introduction of the XC40, C40 and the EX30.
Rebirth of the PHEV in South Africa? If we check out what occurred in China in 2024, we might see some similarities. For big gamers corresponding to BYD and several other others, PHEVs outsold BEVs in 2024. Taking a look at BYD particularly, for 2024, BYD’s PHEVs took 58% of whole gross sales, an enormous distinction to 2023 when BEVs had a better share at 52.3%. So, what induced the sharp enhance in PHEV gross sales in 2024? For starters, BYD launched a number of new PHEV fashions in 2024 in addition to updating its lineup of PHEVs. BYD ran a marketing campaign in China framed as “PHEVs are cheaper than ICE,” highlighting that its upgraded PHEVs are cheaper to purchase in comparison with equal full ICE automobiles, from each an upfront buy perspective in addition to an working or whole price of possession (TCO) perspective. This appeared to resonate with consumers in 2024. Different gamers launched a variety of EREVs which have been very profitable. BEV gross sales have overtaken PHEV gross sales once more in China in 2025 up to now. Will we see BEVs additionally making a comeback to the highest place in South Africa’s plug in market?
Now with numerous Chinese language gamers such because the Chery Group, SAIC’s MG, and different increasing operations in South Africa, it’s no shock that PHEVs are on the up. BYD additionally launched numerous PHEV fashions in South Africa, such because the Sealion 06 and the BYD Shark pickup. This coupled with excessive import duties and taxes levied on BEVs in South Africa, gross sales of extra reasonably priced PHEV fashions from an upfront buy perspective, might additional enhance PHEVs gross sales in South Africa, growing the hole by yr finish and the close to future.
BEVs are actually higher merchandise and one hopes the South African authorities will cut back import duties and taxes levied on BEVs to spice up adoption ASAP. Excessive import duties and taxes are relevant to electrical automobiles in South Africa. Petrol and diesel automobiles imported from the EU into South Africa have a customs obligation of 18%, whereas for electrical automobiles it’s 25%. There are additionally the Advert Valorem Customs Excise Duties and VAT. The South African authorities ought to at the very least cut back the import duties to match the 18% for ICE automobiles. In reality, they may study from a number of governments on the African continent which have diminished and even eliminated import duties for BEVs fully to encourage adoption. International locations which have diminished or eliminated import duties on BEVs embody Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mauritius, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, amongst a number of others.
One constructive factor is that in 2025, we’re going to see extra reasonably priced BEVs getting into the South African market. One of many extremely anticipated ones is the BYD Seagull/Dolphin Mini/ATTO 1 that’s being launched in South Africa this September. Rumored to be priced round R350,000 (about $19,900), which is the worth vary of some fashionable ICE hatchbacks in South Africa, this has the potential to actually supercharge BEV gross sales in South Africa. The BYD Seagull shall be referred to as the Dolphin Surf in South Africa, similar to within the UK. If the South African authorities lastly strikes to take away import duties on BEVs in South Africa, the Dolphin Surf worth on this market shall be much more engaging, serving to to speed up adoption.
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