Johannesburg - Although South Africa’s electric car market is still very much in its infancy, there has certainly been a surge in interest in these battery-powered machines. Although no affordable EVs are on the horizon, 2022 should see improved sales numbers as many new premium entrants join the market, from brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo.
But how are electric cars trading in the used car space in South Africa? Well, the 2021 AutoTrader Car Industry Annual Report, which covers the full year from the start of January to the end of December 2021, includes a dedicated section on battery-electric powered vehicles, providing valuable insight into the local used car sales performance of these new-energy cars.
Interestingly, it shows that more than 540 000 searches for EVs were conducted on the platform in 2021, representing a year-on-year increase of over 110%, effectively more than doubling.
“The local appetite for and awareness of electric vehicles is clearly growing, with the Porsche Taycan – which enjoyed a whopping 900% year-on-year increase in number of searches on our platform in 2021 – proving the perfect example,” said George Mienie, AutoTrader’s CEO
The Porsche Taycan became the most considered used electric vehicle of the year in 2021, making up 38.19% of all EV searches on the AutoTrader platform despite featuring the highest average list price at R2 991 970 (a figure that even eclipsed the R2 100 000 asking price of a single Ford Mustang Mach-E that was privately imported and listed). Although it boasts the longest claimed single-charge range of the vehicles here, the Taycan’s average mileage was interestingly the lowest at 4 055km, around 900km less than even the MINI Cooper SE.
Searches on AutoTrader for the Jaguar I-Pace – which ended 2021 with an average list price of R1 550 117 – grew 62% year on year, with the Coventry-based firm’s battery-powered SUV slotting between the i3 and Taycan in terms of availability.
Somewhat predictably considering its older average registration year of 2015 (not to mention limited stock thanks to the fact this model is no longer available on SA’s new-vehicle market), the Nissan LEAF had the lowest average list price at just below R250 000.
According to the data, the average list price of a used EV in 2021 was R1 343 341, while the average mileage came in at 12 607km. With an average price of a little over R550 000, the BMW i3 was the most listed EV and also accounted for more than a third (at 38.02%) of total searches for this flavour of vehicle in 2021. In addition, the Munich-based firm’s quirky hatchback featured the highest average mileage of all at around 33 000 km.