This is a really dismal picture and no wonder the sales are so few – what country imposes a higher tax on electric vehicles? That combined with grid load shedding and way fewer charge points than the EU and the USA means there is really little going for EVs in South Africa apart from cheaper running costs.
“By Jaguar’s calculations, energy costs to fuel an I-PACE work out to between one-third and one-quarter that of a diesel vehicle with similar power outputs and performance. This estimate should, in theory, apply to any EV from any brand whether in existence or yet to be introduced.” Additionally, electric vehicle owners are not subjected to the fluctuating prices of petrol and diesel.
There is tremendous potential but demand is going to stagnate until government turns on some incentives. It seems manufacturers are doing what they can to counter the load shedding as well as range anxiety, but the purchase cost is just too expensive still for the average consumer. According to Car Magazine a bottom of the range Nissan Leaf retails in 2020 for R504,975 (US$32,238) although Nissan does not list a price n its site so hopefully that is not a foreign conversion price, and a BMW i3 is R660,000 (US$42,135). Nissan’s regular Micra turbo Acenta costs ‘only’ R284,100) – a little over half of the cost of the EV.
See Electric vehicles in South Africa – Government is a big problem
MyBroadband spoke to BMW, Jaguar, and Nissan about the state of the electric vehicle industry in South Africa.