ELECTRIC MOBILITY
The electric road ahead
South Africa ' s electric vehicle market is growing quickly enough to attract attention, but remains small enough to be easily overstated.
In the first seven months of 2026, South Africans bought 16 289 new energy vehicles, up 88 % on the same period in 2025, but only 2 360 of those were fully batteryelectric, against 8 078 conventional hybrids and 5 851 plug-in hybrids. NAAMSA ' s numbers show batteryelectric sales jumping by roughly 263 % year on year.
" It ' s great to see momentum taking off in both the passenger and commercial space this year," says Rita Vieira Naudé, GreenCape ' s senior energy analyst, who puts the growth down to more models on the market, better prices, and drivers wanting some protection from fuel prices that keep jumping around. Even so, battery-electric cars made up less than 1 % of new vehicle sales. It ' s a market picking up speed from a very low base, not a sign that everyone ' s about to give up petrol and diesel.
The more interesting action right now is happening in delivery depots and distribution centres, not driveways.
16 sabusinessintegrator. co. za