Motoring23.12.2021

13 exciting electric cars coming to South Africa in 2022 — and what they will cost

Barring any delays caused by the ongoing global chip shortage, 2022 will see the biggest number of new battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) launched in South Africa in a single year.

In 2021, numerous major car manufacturers announced big plans that would see them shifting a large chunk of their vehicle line-ups from internal combustion engines (ICEs) to fully electric or hybrid-electric engines over the next decade or two.

The changes will also significantly impact South Africa’s vehicle manufacturing industry, which exports over 200,000 cars to foreign markets each year.

Many of these countries have introduced legislation that will see them take many ICE cars off their roads and rapidly expand electric charging infrastructure.

South Africa is behind the curve on electric vehicles, especially compared to developed countries.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of cars sold in the country, only 154 were BEV models units in 2019, followed by 92 in the pandemic-troubled 2020.

That’s likely because South Africans only have six BEV models to choose from.

These are the BMW i3, Mini Cooper SE, Jaguar i-Pace, Porsche Taycan, Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, and Volvo XC40.

The cheapest among them is the Mini Cooper SE, which starts at R658,000.

But 2022 will see at least 13 new BEV models confirmed to launch in the country.

That does not include any that might still arrive based on other manufacturers’ previous announcements.

The largest number will be coming from Audi, with five set to launch in the first quarter of the year and one for which a launch date remains to be confirmed.

Mercedes-Benz will also be bringing its first electric cars to the market, with four rolling out in mid-2022.

BMW will add three new models during the second quarter of the year to join its i3.

The German carmakers seem to believe South Africa could be a ripe future market for electric cars.

The other big name to consider is Volkswagen, which said it would launch its first electric car in South Africa in 2022.

Volkswagen will be testing a fleet of its ID.4 crossover vehicles in the country next year. Should this prove successful, it might still launch its first EV locally in 2022.

Unfortunately, most of the models coming next year will likely cost a pretty penny.

That is because the manufacturing costs of an electric car still outweighs that of ICE cars, and South Africa’s import duties on EVs are more expensive than for ICE cars.

Below are the 13 BEVs confirmed to be launching in South Africa in 2022.