BEV Listings in South Africa’s Used Vehicle Market up 63% Year on Year (January to June 2025)

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Growing the pool of BEVs available on the used vehicle market will help catalyse EV adoption, as more people are in a position to purchase a lower priced, used BEV than brand new ones. As South Africa does not allow the importation of used vehicles, this growth can only come from increasing the number of brand new models available in the market and this should therefore be prioritised.

Since BMW led the way in introducing battery electric vehicles on a regular basis in the South African market around 2015, which is a decade ago now, just over 4,000 battery electric vehicles have been sold in South Africa. Nissan briefly sold the first-generation Nissan LEAF, but that was discontinued after a short spell. 4,000 BEVs doesn’t sound like a lot. That’s because the South African BEV market has been hampered by high import duties and taxes levied on BEVs. These high import duties meant that automakers generally supplied the more premium models to the South African market where the sticker price could be more competitive with equivalent ICE vehicles, and people shopping in that price bracket would not be put off by the price difference anyway, and would opt into a BEV as early adopters. Most of the BEVs available were priced at well above R1 million. That meant the majority of general car buyers that would be looking for cars going for less than R500,000 were not able to get a BEV. A sub-R400,000 BEV with over 300 km (186 miles) of real-world range would really boost adoption in South Africa.

Unfortunately, these high import duties and taxes are still applicable to electric vehicles in South Africa. Petrol and diesel vehicles imported from the EU into South Africa have a customs duty of 18%, while for electric vehicles it is 25%. There are also the Ad Valorem Customs Excise Duties and VAT. The South African government should at least reduce the import duties to match the 18% for ICE vehicles. In fact, they could learn from several governments on the African continent that have reduced and even removed import duties for BEVs completely to encourage adoption. Countries that have reduced or removed import duties on BEVs include Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mauritius, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, amongst several others.

Back to the approximately 4,000 BEVs sold in South Africa since 2015. South Africa does not allow the importation of used vehicles from other countries. Therefore, the used BEV market in South Africa is made up of vehicles that were originally introduced as new in South Africa. The pool of these vehicles, now offered at lower prices in the used vehicle market, will help more people to be in a position to get their hands on their first BEV. We have an update on this market from AutoTrader’s latest Mid-Year Report. 

AutoTrader data in this report shows a rise in EV advert views, supply, and sales, primarily driven by new BEV models and variants that address key consumer pain points. The average sold and listed price of EVs in South Africa also decreased, providing more buying power for consumers and supporting EV adoption rates. There was a 65% year-on-year increase in sold BEVs between January and June 2025. The report also says that there were over 997 listings of BEVs, representing a 63% year-on-year increase in listings from January to June 2025. During this period, the Volvo EX30 was the most-sold BEV in South Africa from January to June 2025. This is not surprising, as the Volvo EX30 has been the top selling brand new BEV in South Africa over the past two years, and therefore, its availability on the used vehicle market should also be growing. The average sold price for a BEV is 5% lower than the average EV listing price, highlighting some strong negotiations going on between buyers and sellers. Despite being the most-frequently listed BEV on the market, the GWM Ora was ranked 7th among the top 10 best-selling used BEVs. This could be because a lot more people look into it due to its lower price than most of the other vehicles available on the resale market, but could be unsure of jumping in on a new brand they are not so familiar with. 

As South Africa does not allow the importation of used vehicles, this growth can only come from increasing the number of brand new models available in the market, and this should therefore be prioritised. There is some hope, as several more affordable options are set to launch in South Africa soon. We are going to see more affordable BEVs entering the South African market in 2025. One of the highly anticipated ones is the BYD Seagull/Dolphin Mini/ATTO 1 that is being launched in South Africa this September. Rumored to be priced around R350,000 (about $19,900), which is the price range of some popular ICE hatchbacks in South Africa, this has the potential to really supercharge BEV sales in South Africa. The BYD Seagull will be known as the Dolphin Surf in South Africa, just like in the UK. If the South African government finally moves to remove import duties on BEVs in South Africa, the Dolphin Surf price in this market will be even more attractive, helping to accelerate adoption.

Another growth driver could come from the growing number of PHEVs. In the first 6 months of this year, 788 PHEVs were sold in South Africa. In the whole of 2024, 737 PHEVs were sold in 2024, up 100% from 368 units sold in 2023. However, PHEVs still only made up 0.14% of total vehicle sales in South Africa in 2024. Looking at those numbers, we can see that more PHEVs were sold in H1 2025 in South Africa than in the whole of 2024! There could be a large number of people who are not yet confident to go full BEV. These people could opt to get a PHEV for now, but once they start living with a PHEV with decent range in all-electric mode of about 100 km (62 miles), they will realise they can actually be comfortable going full BEV and then on their next purchase they will go full BEV.

Also see: Chinese Automakers Are Reshaping South Africa’s Used Car Market

Charts and images courtesy of AutoTrader SA