South Africa's most wanted electric vehicles

The newest Annual Car Industry Report from AutoTrader reveals the most searched-for, visited, and listed electric cars (EVs) on its South African website in 2022.

The automobile classifieds network saw a 159% increase in EV advertisement views among its members, owing mostly to new models hitting the market and piqueing customer interest.

The RS E-tron GT from Audi had the most views — 180,883.

This high-performance variant is at the top of the company’s E-tron lineup, with 440kW of power and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 3.3 seconds.

With 145,684 views, it was followed by the standard Audi E-tron. Both E-tron variants will be available in South Africa in early 2022.

The fourth-placed Porsche Taycan had 115,682 views, while the BMW iX received 51,610. These two vehicles will arrive in South Africa in 2021.

The Tesla Model Y was a notable inclusion on the top ten most-viewed list, despite the fact that only one model was featured during the year.

Tesla does not sell vehicles in South Africa, but another imported Model 3 was previously sold online.

Rubicon Energy, Tesla’s official South African reseller of Powerwall, Megpack, and Wall Connector goods, also imported a Model X in 2021.

That was done with three objectives in mind:

• Marketing the Tesla brand to help sell its products.
• Creating awareness around e-mobility among the public by using Tesla’s recognisability as an electric vehicle brand.
• To lobby government and politicians by showing them the technology that is coming and making them aware of the need to prepare for it.

The chart below shows the top 10 most-viewed EV models on AutoTrader in 2022.

The BMW i3 was the most searched for or inquired about EV of the year, followed by the Audi RS e-tron GT and Audi e-tron.

The Mini Cooper SE, the cheapest EV available in South Africa, was only the eighth most popular, indicating that price was not the most significant issue for potential customers.

The Tesla Model Y was the fourth most-searched EV.

The fact that it outperformed automobiles like the Porsche Taycan, BMW iX, and BMW iX3 demonstrates the Elon Musk-owned brand’s local appeal.

According to AutoTrader’s 2022 Electric Car Buyers poll, Tesla has more brand awareness for EVs in South Africa than Mini, which sells cars locally.

It also outranked Lexus, which offers hybrid EVs in South Africa.

The infographic below displays the top ten most-searched electric vehicles on AutoTrader in 2022.

EVs were listed 425 times on the seller side of the business throughout the year.

The average mileage of the listed EVs was 17,446km, with the average model year being 2021.

These figures reflect the EV industry’s infancy in South Africa.

The average EV price of R1,853,743 was much greater than the overall car price of R374,149.

That is hardly surprising given that EVs are still significantly more costly than their diesel and gasoline-powered counterparts.

However, the pricing disparities are especially pronounced in South Africa due to higher taxes on EV imports than on conventional vehicles.

According to AutoTrader, the 2022 Electric Car Buyers study found that buyers’ preferred EV pricing was less than R600,000.

“The only model which is within this band is the discontinued Nissan Leaf which was not even in the top 10 most-listed EVs,” AutoTrader said.

The regular Audi E-tron was the most-listed EV, with an average mileage of 6,686km between marketed variants.

Despite just being on the market for a year, it has already exceeded the BMW i3, which has a seven-year lead.

This model’s average mileage on AutoTrader in 2022 was 49,715km.

The top five were completed by the Porsche Taycan, BMW iX, and Audi RS E-Tron GT.

The table below displays the top ten most-listed EVs on AutoTrader in South Africa in 2022.