Petrol and diesel cars often cleaner than electric in South Africa — If you don’t have solar

Electric cars available in South Africa with comparable petrol or diesel equivalents generally have similar or lower carbon emissions, a recent MyBroadband comparison has shown.

The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is seen as one of the key parts of the world’s reduction in carbon emissions to combat climate change.

However, EVs can only be as green as their energy source.

EVs don’t have any tailpipe emissions, but the big problem in South Africa is that most of our electricity comes from coal, which produces many harmful emissions.

In a 2021 comparison, MyBroadband found that electricity used to power the compact BMW i3, one of the most popular EVs at the time, required more emissions than a diesel-powered BMW 1-series produced per kilometre of travel.

We opted for the BMW 1-series because it was the most comparable to the i3 in terms of size and price at the time.

The other EVs available in the country then also did not have directly comparable petrol or diesel models.

However, in the past two years, numerous new electric cars have rolled out locally, including several with the same design and platform.

Among them are the Volvo XC40 Recharge and BMW iX3, which are electrified versions of the XC40 and X3.

We decided to see if our previous finding still held when comparing the emissions of these cars’ electric, diesel, and petrol versions.

Since our last comparison, the South African grid emissions factor has also declined from around 1kg CO₂ emitted for every kWh generated in 2021 to about 866.5g in 2022, according to a report by Carbon Footprint Ltd.

The BMW iX3 has an energy consumption of about 18.9kWh/100km or 5.29km per kWh.

For every kilometre travelled only using electricity from Eskom’s grid, you would have consumed roughly 164g worth of CO₂.

The diesel-powered BMW X3 models — the sDrive18d, xDrive20d, and xDrive30d — produce 136g, 147g, and 177g of CO₂, respectively.

The latter is the most comparable to the electric model based on engine kW output — with 195kW compared to its 210kW.

The three engines available for the X3 generate between 172g and 241g per kilometre at minimum, which makes all three worse emitters than the iX3.

The Volvo XC40 Recharge Single Motor has a rated consumption of 18.5kWh/100km, which means it can drive about 5.41km on a kWh of electricity.

It would require about 160g of CO₂ emissions for every kilometre travelled with this model.

The more powerful Recharge Twin Motor is less power-efficient, at 20.4kWh/100km, or about 4.6km on a kWh.

That means 177g of CO₂ emissions would be necessary to provide enough juice for each kilometre it travels.

Both the XC40 B3 and B4 petrol mild hybrids emit about 151g of CO₂ emissions per km.

The table below compares the per-kilometre CO₂ emissions of the BMW iX3 and X3, as well as the Volvo XC40 and XC40 Recharge.

We also compared the CO₂ emissions of the most affordable electric, petrol and diesel models to see how cars at the entry level stacked up.

These cars tend to feature smaller engines and weigh less, making them more efficient overall.

Priced starting from R686,950, the GWM Ora Cat is the cheapest EV in South Africa and also one of the most efficient.

The hatchback is rated at 16.8kWh/100km, which means it can be driven for 5.95km on one kWh of electricity.

Driving one kilometre in the car would require 146g of CO₂ emissions.

The most affordable passenger diesel car in South Africa, the Mahindra XUV300 1.5TD W6 Diesel, produces 132g of CO2 per kilometre.

The cheapest petrol passenger car in South Africa — the Suzuki S-Presso — boasts an astoundingly low 118g, likely because of its small engine.

However, neither of these vehicles offers anywhere near the power or specifications of the Ora Cat.

For this reason, we also compared the CO₂ emissions of competing petrol and diesel-powered hatchbacks in its price category.

The table below compares the CO₂ emissions of the most affordable electric, diesel, and petrol cars in South Africa at the time of publication.

Achieving the figures in the table above in the electric cars would require using only Eskom’s grid power.

If you charge only about a quarter of what your car consumes using your own or office’s solar power every month, the scales tip heavily in favour of the EV.

In addition to reducing your environmental impact, it would decrease how much you pay to top up your EV with Eskom’s electricity.

The emissions of the petrol and diesel cars will remain the same, regardless of where you fill up.

The table below shows the theoretical CO₂ emissions resulting from the use of the electric models compared above, if you charged 25%, 50%, or 75% of their batteries with solar power.

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Now read: Goodbye Eskom — South Africa getting 120 off-grid electric charging stations