Here’s what the average used electric car looks like in South Africa – price and mileage

·13 Feb 2022

New data from AutoTrader shows what the average used electric vehicle looks like in South Africa, despite the segment being in its infancy in the country, with only a handful of models to date.

AutoTrader’s annual car industry report shows a sharp increase in consumer interest for electric vehicles (EVs). Over 540,000 searches of EVs were conducted in 2021, indicating an increase of over 110% from last year. This data is off a very low base as only 92 EVs were sold locally in 2020.

However, momentum is expected to continue into 2022 and beyond as automakers increasingly commit to electric and as they transition to 100% zero-emission sales.

In its Car Industry Report, AutoTrader said that in 2021, EVs were listed 379 times, registering an average price of R1,343,341, mileage of 63,037km, year model of 2020.

Currently, there are only several fully electric vehicles available on the market in South Africa:

BMW i3 (R754 000);
Mini Cooper SE (R589 000);
Jaguar I-Pace (R1 942 000);
Porsche Taycan (R2 500 000); and the
Volvo XC40 Recharge (R1 200 000) – which was launched in the country at the start of the year.

This is expected to change in 2022 as the likes of Audi and Mercedes unveil their electric plans. Some of the new EVs coming to South Africa include:

Audi e-tron 55
Audi e-tron GT
Audi RS e-tron GT
BMW iX3
BMW i4 M50

Overall, AutoTrader said that the top 10 most listed vehicles in 2021 made up 27% of total car stock, while the 10 most supplied vehicles made up the typical list of most searched, viewed and enquired.

In 2021, average car prices were still on average more expensive than the previous year but lower than the price experienced in the first half of 2021, indicating a slow return to stabilisation, as a result, of macro-economic impacts used & new cars, AutoTrader said.

“This tells us that car dealers are stocking up on the necessary vehicles which are receiving the highest amount of Demand by in-market car shoppers,” it said.

Top 10 Most Listed Models