Plug-in electric vehicles in South Africa

Plug-in electric vehicles (both hybrids and full EVs) have gradually become more popular in South Africa. The country has a thriving automotive industry, and consumers have increasingly become more drawn to some form of electric vehicle. This has been accelerated in recent years by the rollout of public charging infrastructure, including fast chargers, across the country.[1][2]

Charging infrastructure

Public chargers

South Africa has a small, but growing EV charging station network. There is no direct government infrastructure spending on EV charging, and SA therefore has a patchwork of private charging sites. Investment in infrastructure is increasing.

As of October 2025, there are estimated to be at least 400 public EV charging stations across South Africa (although this figure is unverified, and does not distinguish charging stations from connectors/points), roughly 60% of which are operated by local company GridCars.[3][4]

Numerous proof of concept high-capacity DC chargers are installed at various sites across SA, including the three 240 kW chargers at Zero Carbon Charge's N12 North West facility, Rubicon's 200 kW station at the Mall of Africa in Midrand, and their 150 kW one at Canal Walk and Somerset Mall in Cape Town.

The cost of installing a charging station is estimated to be between R500,0000 and R2 million. To reach profitability, SA will need around 100,000 EVs on the road.[5]

As of 2025, there are around 3,500 new EVs sold per year in South Africa. Sales are expected to grow steadily, as new models are introduced into the market. At the same time, the industry was estimated to already be worth R2.8 billion.[5]

The country's public DC charging network comprises, among other initiatives, the following:

  • GridCars' DC fast-charging network across SA[6]
    • Active charging stations: 250+
    • Planned charging stations: Unknown
  • Rubicon E-mobility AC and DC fast-charging network across SA[7]
    • Active charging stations: 125+
    • Planned charging stations: 1000+
  • BYD's Super e-Platform Megawatt Flash Chargers, with solar power and battery energy storage systems[8]
    • Active charging stations: 0
    • Planned charging stations: Between 200 and 300 in 2026, with more thereafter
  • Public charging stations through a partnership between Eskom and BYD[9]
    • Active charging stations: 0
    • Planned charging stations: 55 by the end of 2027
  • National Automobile Association of South Africa[9]
    • Active charging stations: 0
    • Planned charging stations: 100 between the end of 2030 and 2032
  • Cape Town-based Zero Carbon Charge's solar-powered stations, with R100 million investment from the Development Bank of Southern Africa[10][11][12]
    • Active charging stations: 1
    • Planned charging stations: 120 for passenger vehicles (at 150 km intervals, along major highways), and a further 120 for electric trucks
  • Autel Intelligent Technology
    • Active charging stations: 100 DC fast chargers (120kW) for public transit operator Golden Arrow's Arrowgate BRT depot in Cape Town, as well as 119 public chargers (22kW) at Toyota dealerships across SA[13]
    • Planned charging stations: Unknown

At-home charging

At-home alternating current (AC) charging can be done using two methods; standard plug sockets or dedicated, wall-mounted chargers (for faster charging speeds).

SA operates a 230V electricity network, and regular outlets are limited to 16A, as per SANS-164 and newer SANS 164-2 standards.

For a regular power outlet, charging is therefore limited to 3.7 kW (with the exact number depending on the amperage of the socket).

Dedicated at-home EV chargers are available locally with speeds ranging from 7.4 kW to 22 kW. These require the installation of a dedicated a connection supporting over 16A of current (i.e., an "industrial outlet").[14]

Locally-available hybrids and EVs

As of 2026, vehicle manufacturers offering plug-in hybrids and/or full EVs in South Africa include:

Vehicle manufacturers offering plug-in hybrids and/or full EVs in South Africa (as at February 2026)
Manufacturer Models with a PHEV / full EV variant Country of manufacturer's (and parent company's) HQ Ref
Toyota bZ4X, RAV4 Japan [15]
Lexus RZ, RX, NX Japan [16]
Omoda C7, C9 China [17][18]
Leapmotor C10 China [19]
Chery Tiggo 7 China [20]
Jaecoo J7 China [21]
Lepas L8 China [22]
BYD Sealion 5, Sealion 6, Dolphin Surf China [23][18]
MG Cyberster UK (China) [24]
Haval H6 China [25]
Geely E5 China [18]
Volvo EX30 Sweden (China) [26]
BMW M5, M7, X1, X3, X5, i4, i5, i7, iX3, iX1, iX Germany [27][28]
Mercedes-Benz C-Class, E-Class, S-Class Germany [29]
Volkswagen Caravelle Germany [30]
15 manufacturers 33 models 5 countries -

Government policy

Incentives

As of 2022, the national government in South Africa does not offer any tax incentives for electric vehicles, and charges a 25% tariff on electric vehicle imports (compared with 18% for gasoline-powered cars).[31][32]

Power generation

As of May 2022, electric car usage in South Africa emits more greenhouse gas on average than gasoline-powered car usage due to the prevalence of coal in electricity generation.[33]

EV sales and registration data

  • In 2020, there were just 6,367 electric vehicles registered in South Africa.[34]
  • In 2022, 0.2% of new cars sold in South Africa were fully electric.[35]
  • In 2023, 931 new fully-electric vehicles were sold in South Africa - a new record for the segment.[36]

Top-selling alternative fuel vehicles

The market for hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and full EVs in South Africa is small, but growing, as is the country's charging infrastructure. August 2025 sales figures for the top-selling plug-in hybrids and full EVs in SA are below.[37]

Best-selling new plug-in hybrid passenger vehicle (PHEV) models in South Africa
Vehicle August 2025
Haval H6 70
Chery Tiggo 7 50
Jaecoo J7 49
Chery Tiggo 8 33
Omoda C9 32
Total sales 318
Best-selling new electric passenger vehicle (EV) models in South Africa
Vehicle August 2025
Mercedes-Benz EQE 10
Volvo EX30 8
Volvo XC40 7
Mercedes-Benz EQA 5
Total sales 60

References

  1. ^ "Plug-In Hybrids On The Rise: What South African Buyers Should Know". Group1. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  2. ^ "8 electric vehicles coming to South Africa in 2024". BusinessTech. 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  3. ^ Eyaaz Matwadia (23 October 2025). "ew-energy or petrol: What is the best form of driving in South Africa?". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  4. ^ "GridCars - Our Network". GridCars. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  5. ^ a b Yunus Kemp (4 June 2025). "South Africa: 100,000 EVs needed for charging sector to make bank". ESI Africa. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  6. ^ Partner (19 December 2025). "GridCars – Powering your electric journey". MyBroadband. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  7. ^ Partner. "Rubicon E-mobility Map".
  8. ^ "Why The Byd Announcement Is Big News For South Africa". eNCA. 17 October 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  9. ^ a b Hanno Labuschagne (5 October 2025). "Important information for electric car owners in South Africa". MyBroadband. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Zero Carbon Charge - Homepage". Zero Carbon Charge. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  11. ^ Terence Creamer (26 May 2025). "DBSA invests R100m into EV charging station company". Engineering News. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  12. ^ Hanno Labuschagne (29 July 2025). "The former Naspers man and the farmer building South Africa's first Eskom-free electric car charging network". MyBroadband. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  13. ^ Hanno Labuschagne (18 February 2026). "Toyota dealers quietly built a free electric car charging network in South Africa". MyBroadband. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  14. ^ Hanno Labuschagne (31 July 2025). "South Africa has more electric car chargers than petrol stations". MyBroadband. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  15. ^ Sundeeka Mungroo (13 February 2026). "Toyota brings first full electric vehicle to SA market". The South African. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  16. ^ "Lexus electric vehicles". Lexus. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Omoda Launches the C9 PHEV in South Africa". Omoda. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  18. ^ a b c Ryan Bubear (18 December 2025). "PHEV price battle heats up: SA's 5 'most affordable' plug-in hybrids". news24. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  19. ^ "Leapmotor - C10 REEV SUV". Leapmotor. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  20. ^ "Tiggo 7 PHEV". Chery. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  21. ^ "The JAECOO J7 SHS Has Arrived". Jaecoo. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  22. ^ "Lepas Homepage". Lepas. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  23. ^ Michael Taylor (12 February 2026). "Cheapest hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric car in South Africa". Top Auto. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  24. ^ "MG Cyberster". MG. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  25. ^ "Haval H6 GT PHEV". Haval. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  26. ^ Dennis Droppa (29 October 2024). "Is it worthwhile to buy an electric car in SA?". Business Day. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  27. ^ "BMW Plug-in hybrid models". BMW. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  28. ^ "The wide range of BMW electric car models". BMW. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  29. ^ "Discover the Mercedes-Benz plug-in hybrids". Mercedes. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  30. ^ Remeredzai Joseph Kuhudzai (18 February 2026). "Volkswagen Launches The All-New Caravelle PHEV In South Africa". Clean Technica. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  31. ^ Malinga, Sibahle (5 August 2022). "SA has priciest electric vehicles in the world". ITWeb. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  32. ^ de Villiers, Ryan (23 February 2023). "Dark days for electric vehicles in South Africa". Springs Advertiser. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  33. ^ Neil Thomas Stacey (3 May 2022). "Electric cars will remain a dirty word in South Africa without electricity generation reform". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Electric vehicles in South Africa: how to avoid making them the privilege of the few". The Conversation. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  35. ^ Woosey, Jason (21 February 2023). "Here's how hybrid and electric car sales have increased in SA since 2018". iol.co.za. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  36. ^ "Electric car sales record shattered in South Africa". Drive Electric. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  37. ^ "Detailed SA Vehicle Sales Figures for August 2025" (PDF). AutoLive. August 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
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