Hybrid and Electric vehicle sales surge in 2022

Traditional hybrid (HEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales have soared in the first nine months to end September 2022, pushing market share to 1.1% of total new passenger vehicle sales – the first time it has been above 1% in the January to September window.

The surge in sales is being driven by a greater variety of vehicles available from manufacturers, growing consumer awareness of the environmental and other benefits of driving hybrid and electric vehicles, and elevated petrol and diesel prices.

New Passenger sales of Hybrid and Electric vehicles
January to September

The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid dominates the HEV market, accounting for 27% of all traditional hybrid sales in South Africa since the launch of the Toyota Prius in 2005 – and this is despite the Corolla Cross Hybrid having been on the market for less than 18 months!

Sales of the long-serving Prius make up 14% of all HEVs sold over the last 18 years.

The BMW i3 has proved to be the best-selling BEV in the country, accounting for 40% of all electric vehicle sales. Electric vehicles were introduced to SA in 2013 with the arrival of the Nissan Leaf. The second best-selling BEV over the last 10 years is the Mini Cooper Electric, with 13% of BEV sales.

Plug-in Hybrids (PHEV) have proven to be a bit of a niche vehicle in South Africa as they have only been available through premium/luxury marques. Vehicles such as the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Toyota Prius Prime and VW Golf e-Hybrid have not, as yet, found their way to our shores.

The now-discontinued BMW i8 was the first PHEV introduced into the country in 2015, and remains the best-selling vehicle in the category, making up 40% of all PHEV sales over the past eight years. The Volvo XC90 Recharge, with 33% of total sales, is number two on the list of best-selling PHEVs.

Share of energy source by vehicle type (2005 to 2022)

Most hybrid and electric vehicle sales – 15.1% to date in 2022 – have taken place in Johannesburg. Tshwane (Pretoria) is second on 11.1%, and Cape Town third with 10.8%.

In terms of regional market share in 2022, Cape Town tops the list with 1.4% of all Passenger market sales in the metro being hybrid and electric vehicles. Cape Town is closely followed by Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay (Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth) at 1.3%, while Johannesburg is sitting on 1.2%.

With respect to year-on-year growth for the first nine months of 2022, Nelson Mandela Bay appears to have embraced the “new energy” space with hybrid and EV sales surging by 1 900% compared to the January-September window last year! The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid has accounted for 60% of all these sales.

Cape Town is up 977% on 2021, while Tshwane is marginally less at 975%. By contrast, Johannesburg has “only” grown 456% year-on-year, well behind the 796% national growth rate for hybrid and electric vehicles for the first nine months.

New Passenger sales of Hybrid and Electric vehicles by metro
January to September