The Volvo XC40 tops the charts for battery electric vehicles in the first quarter in South Africa

Battery electric vehicle sales continue to show steady progress in South Africa. Sales of battery electric vehicles surpassed the 500 unit per year mark in South Africa for the first time ever in 2022. Last year, 502 battery electric cars were sold in South Africaup from 218 in 2021.

The National Automotive Business Council of South Africa (NAAMSA) has just released its car sales figures for the first quarter of 2023, and these figures show that in the first three months of the year, the number of electric cars sold in the last quarter was almost half the number of electric cars sold in 2023. The year The entire past! In the first quarter of this year, 232 battery-electric vehicles were sold in South Africa. More battery electric vehicles were sold in the first quarter of 2023 than in all of 2021. This is some good progress. This means that BEV sales in 2023 are almost certain to double again, which is very impressive, given the limited choice of BEVs in South Africa, as well as the fact that most BEV models on offer In the country are more distinguished models. Starting at over R1 million ($54,649).

The Volvo As you can see, the BMW Group dominates the electric vehicle sales charts in South Africa. BMW has traditionally dominated sales of battery electric vehicles in South Africa. The i3 has topped the sales charts for several years, and was for a long time the only electric car sold in South Africa after the first generation Nissan Leaf stopped selling in the market.

BMW South Africa has been introducing new battery electric vehicle models to the South African market as soon as they are available in the global market. This is perhaps one of the reasons why BMW continues to dominate the BEV charts in South Africa. In 2022, BMW is back on top again. This time, the BMW iX3 topped the charts with 106 units registered. Although the numbers are still low, the BMW iX3 sold more units in 2022 than all battery electric cars combined in 2020! The MINI Cooper SE, another BMW Group car, took second place. The MINI Cooper SE achieved 96 sales, and also sold more in 2022 than all battery electric cars combined in 2020. The BMW iX was a huge success in 2021, with 63 sales, and settled in 2022 with 70 sales sale. Will Volvo BEVs break the trend and top the EV charts in 2023? Let’s wait and find out at the end of the year.

Hybrid vehicles continue to record low numbers in South Africa, recording just 25 units in the quarter. The Volvo XC60 topped the additional car lists with 7 units, followed by the Volvo The Ferrari SF90 scored 3 units and completed the top five.

Overall, 93,100 vehicles were sold in South Africa in the first quarter. This means that battery electric vehicles represented just 0.25% of sales during the first quarter. There is a lot of work ahead to take battery electric vehicle sales to where other markets in the world are now, with many markets showing market shares in excess of 10%. Battery electric cars in South Africa still pay higher import duties and taxes than ICE-powered cars. Yes, believe it or not, battery electric cars will pay higher taxes and duties in South Africa in 2023! Taxes in South Africa are set at 18% on ICE imports compared to 25% on electric vehicle imports. There is also an ad valorem tax on EVs, which pushes the cost of an EV to more than double the average price of a new ICE car of a similar make/model in most cases. This is perhaps why the majority of electric car models in South Africa are more premium models where the price is more competitive compared to the smaller car segment.