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Getting an electric vehicle to South Africa, considering all the import and shipping fees, insurance, and taxes, cost a fair fortune.

Especially Tesla, the first brand that comes to mind when thinking about an electric car.

MyBroadband worked out how much it would cost a South African buyer to bring a Tesla to the country from the UK.

They opted for a Tesla Model X Performance model, and it would cost around R3,8 million, which is almost 90% more than its retail price after all the expenses were calculated.

But South African electric vehicle dealer Eleksa seems to have worked out how to bring an electric car that will cost just R200 000.

Introducing the two-door, four-seat CityBug Electric Vehicle, the cheapest electric car in the country so far, according to MyBroadband.

Image: Eleksa

At the moment, only four CityBugs are in the country, having arrived in July 2021, and can be seen at Eleksa’s Pretoria showroom.

The company has been importing and distributing electric vehicles in South Africa for the last six years, and plans to distribute the car throughout the country soon.

But first, the CityBug needs to be approved with roadworthy certification, at which point sales are expected to begin in September.

The CityBug is designed for use in urban areas and has the following capabilities:

• Speed 60km/h
• Charging cost of 15c per km
• A full charge costs around R15
• Lithium batteries provide a starting range of 100 km, upgradeable to 200km
• Includes aircon, GPS navigation, reverse camera, electric windows, android tablet, USB, and a sound system.

Image: TopAuto

Those charging costs stack up nicely when compared to the cost of filling up with petrol:

With the inland unleaded 93 petrol price of R17,20, that means it will cost about R49 over 100km, more than three times the price of recharging the CityBug.

Image: TopAuto

According to Eleksa, CityBug is also currently available in the UK, Germany, Spain, and Uruguay.

In the UK, it is sold via Saturn, which says that solar panels can be added for extra battery life, and that a usual full charge will take around six to eight hours.

Since Eleksa says we should expect to see the CityBug all over soon, it looks like the in-car game of Punch Buggy will need to modernise along with the car technology.

[sources:mybroadband&eleksa]