{"id":640743,"date":"2026-04-14T16:18:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T14:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=640743"},"modified":"2026-04-15T07:47:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T05:47:48","slug":"cheapest-electric-car-launched-in-south-africa-for-r340000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/motoring\/640743-cheapest-electric-car-launched-in-south-africa-for-r340000.html","title":{"rendered":"China’s best-selling car launches in South Africa for R340,000 \u2014 and it needs no petrol"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chinese carmaker Geely Auto has launched its third model in South Africa \u2014 the E2 fully-electric hatchback \u2014 with a starting price tag of R339,900. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sold as the Geome Xinguan in its home country, the five-door, five-seat electric vehicle (EV) was China’s overall top-selling model in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geely sold over 465,775 units of the car in China, beating the second and third placed models by tens of thousands of sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its strong performance has been attributed to a combination of affordability, comprehensive tech and safety features, and greater room than typical budget-beating options in its price segment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa is one of the first markets outside of Asia to get the E2. It will be sold as the EX2 in other international markets like Australia and New Zealand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its South African launch event, Geely Auto South Africa’s head of sales and network, Quentin Opperman, said he believes the E2 will make a “splash” in the local market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geely will sell two versions of the E2 in South Africa \u2014 the Aspire and the Apex. Both models feature a single rear-mounted electric motor with 85kW peak power output and 150Nm torque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That enables acceleration from standstill to 100km\/h in 11.5 seconds. Both options also come with a 39.4kWh battery that supports up to 325km of range on the WLTP cycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both models also support vehicle-to-load (V2L) for powering external devices and are fitted with all-LED automatic headlights, a rearview camera, perforated leatherette seats, and a 70-litre front trunk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a wide range of tech and safety features on both models, including a 14.6-inch infotainment display, 8-8-inch digital instrument cluster, 15-watt wireless charging, and six airbags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For an extra R50,000 on the Apex model, buyers will get larger aluminium alloy wheels, a 6-speaker sound system, 256-colour ambient lighting, and a 360-degree camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also has several additional convenient driving and safety features, including adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane departure warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undercutting BYD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Geely E2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Geely E2 will duel it out with the BYD Dolphin Surf compact hatchback, which was South Africa’s best-selling EV in March 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the two versions of the Dolphin Surf launched at nearly the same price as the two E2 models, their prices were both increased by R2,000 in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the Dolphin Surf entry-level model only gets a 30kWh battery with roughly 100km less range than both Geely E2 models. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first two months of 2026, Geely outsold BYD, which surpassed Tesla as the world’s top EV maker by units sold in 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geely’s share price has also surged since the US-Iran conflict began, buoyed by increased demand for EVs due to rising petrol prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the Geely brand itself, the carmaker owns Volvo, Polestar, Lynk & Co, Riddara, Zeekr, and Farizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geely E2 specifications in South Africa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Specification<\/th>Aspire<\/th>Apex<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Power output\/torque<\/td>85kW\/150Nm<\/td><\/tr>
0-50km\/h acceleration<\/td>4.6 seconds<\/td><\/tr>
0-100km\/h acceleration<\/td>11.5 seconds<\/td><\/tr>
Battery capacity<\/td>39.4kWh<\/td><\/tr>
Maximum DC charging speed<\/td>70kW<\/td><\/tr>
Maximum AC charging speed<\/td>7kW<\/td><\/tr>
Estimated WLTP range<\/td>325km<\/td><\/tr>
Tech and convenience features<\/td>– 14.6-inch infotainment screen
– 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster
– 15W wireless fast charging
– All-LED automatic headlights
– Keyless entry and start
– Multifunction steering wheel
– USB-A and USB-C ports
– Vehicle-to-load (V2L)<\/td>
All on Aspire plus:
– 6-speaker sound system
– 256 colour ambient light- 6-way electric car seats
– Rear privacy glass windows
– Two-tone paint
– Extra USB port
<\/td><\/tr>
Safety features<\/td>– 6 airbags, including side curtain airbags
– Lane Change Assist
– Door Open Warning
– Rear Collision Warning
– Rear Cross Traffic Alert
– Smart High Beam Control
– Blind Spot Detection
– Rear Traffic Assist<\/td>		All on Aspire plus:
– Adaptive Cruise Control
– Automatic Emergency Braking
– Lane Departure Warning
– Front Vehicle Departure Reminder

<\/td><\/tr>
Rims<\/td>15-inch steel <\/td>16-inch aluminium alloy<\/td><\/tr>
Storage space<\/td>70 litres front trunk
375 litres boot <\/td><\/tr>
Warranty and service plan<\/td>4-year, 150,000km vehicle warranty
8-year, 200,000km battery warranty
5-year, 100,000km service plan<\/td><\/tr>
Recommended retail price<\/strong><\/td>R339,900<\/strong><\/td>R389,900<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Geely E2 photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China’s top-selling car is officially available in South Africa and undercuts the BYD Dolphin Surf by R2,000, while offering nearly 100km more range.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":640751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[85881,101463,31960,40550,56194,104314,104313,104509],"class_list":["post-640743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-byd","tag-byd-dolphin-surf","tag-electric-cars","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-geely","tag-geely-e2","tag-geely-ex2","tag-most-affordable-electric-vehicles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640743"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640743"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":640931,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640743\/revisions\/640931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}