{"id":648729,"date":"2026-05-31T08:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T06:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=648729"},"modified":"2026-05-31T08:13:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T06:13:20","slug":"one-electric-car-selling-faster-than-south-africa-can-get-stock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/motoring\/648729-one-electric-car-selling-faster-than-south-africa-can-get-stock.html","title":{"rendered":"One electric car selling faster than South Africa can get stock"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Geely’s E2 electric vehicle (EV) is seeing strong demand in South Africa, with the country’s initial allotment selling out in just a few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched on 14 April 2026 as the second model in the Chinese brand’s return to South Africa, the compact hatchback is the cheapest EV on local dealership floors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa is among the first markets outside China where the E2 became available. In its home country, it is known as the Galaxy Geome and was the best-selling car overall in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has also played a pivotal role in Geely Auto’s record quarterly sales of 709,358 units between January and March 2026, edging out its Chinese rival BYD, which posted 700,463 units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both brands have been expanding their model ranges in international markets, as demand in China slowed due to increased competition and its already high EV adoption rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entry-level Geely E2 Aspire is priced at R339,900 in South Africa, while the higher-end Apex trim costs R389,900.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vehicle has been heaped with praise for its impressive value for money, particularly considering its interior space, WLTP range of 325km, and extensive array of active and passive safety features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As in its home country and in some international markets, these characteristics have seemingly resonated well with South African car buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reliable source familiar with Geely’s dealership activity told MyBroadband the South African business’s initial vehicle allocation sold out in well under a month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we were asked not to share the specific number of vehicles in the initial allocation, we can confirm it was significant enough to place the Geely E2 second in the EV sales rankings in April 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For reference, the top-selling model, the Dolphin Surf, sold 302 units. Ignoring the E2, the second best-selling model was the Volvo EX30, with 24 sales. The E2 allocation was closer to the Surf’s sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers trying to buy the car after the initial sales jump have been advised they would have to wait a few weeks for stock to arrive in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BYD enters top 20 in overall South African car sales<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s monthly electric car sales record has been broken twice in the last two months. In March 2026, sales reached 389 units, beating the previous record of 194 in July 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BYD reporting its South African sales for the first time since it launched locally in mid-2023 was instrumental in the increase, as it contributed 316 sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 2026 set another new record with 403 units. However, that tally excluded the additional contribution of Geely’s two EVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 792 units sold in the last two months alone are already over 70% of the total local EV sales tally in 2025 and 63% of the total sales in 2024, which was the previous best year for EV sales in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BYD again led reported sales with 342 units. The company’s overall sales of 703 units, including plug-in hybrids, pushed it to the 16th top-selling brand overall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geely’s sister brand, Volvo, which is also owned by the Geely Auto Group, placed second with 37 sales. Chinese state-owned manufacturer Changan placed third with 16 sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another up-and-coming EV maker yet to report sales is Dongfeng, which recently expanded its local range with the Nammi 06, South Africa’s most affordable electric SUV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BMW Group, which was South Africa’s top-selling EV brand since the launch of the BMW i3 in 2015, recorded just two sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company is set to launch a range of Neue Klasse electric models in South Africa, including a radically updated iX3, in the coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a much-improved 800km WLTP range, the premium mid-sized SUV is set to do battle with the Volvo EX60, which boasts a similar size and range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top-selling brands in EV sales in South Africa<\/th><\/tr>
Manufacturer<\/th>March 2026<\/th>April 2026<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
BYD <\/td>316<\/td>342<\/td><\/tr>
Volvo Cars<\/td>32<\/td>37<\/td><\/tr>
Changan
<\/td>		11<\/td>16<\/td><\/tr>
BMW Group (includes Mini)<\/td>11<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
Stellantis<\/td>10<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
MG<\/td>4<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
JAC<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
Foton<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td><\/tr>
Porsche<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td><\/tr>
Total<\/strong><\/td>389<\/strong><\/td>403<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Geely cannot keep up with South African demand for its E2 compact electric hatchback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":648745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[1964,85881,101463,102477,104541,31960,67290,56194,104314,31950],"class_list":["post-648729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-bmw","tag-byd","tag-byd-dolphin-surf","tag-changan","tag-chinese-car-brands","tag-electric-cars","tag-electric-vehicles-evs","tag-geely","tag-geely-e2","tag-volvo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648729"}],"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=648729"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":648925,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648729\/revisions\/648925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}