[imagesource: Nissan Leaf]

Buying an electric vehicle (EV) in South Africa is not a decision to be taken lightly.

One has to consider the concerns for our still-wanting charging infrastructure, as well as the hefty price one has to pay to get the car into the country and then out of the showroom.

The high import tax paid by carmakers means that you, as the buyer, will end up paying a substantial premium attached to the price tag.

But mostly, there’s also the constant threat that Eskom might drop a load shedding bomb while you’re scooting about the roads.

Per MyBroadband, data from Greencape’s Electric Vehicles Market Intelligence Report revealed that the adoption of EVs in South Africa has been rather lacking in the last few years.

Compared to the nearly 2,75 million petrol and diesel cars sold in South Africa between 2013 and 2019, just 545 battery-electric models were sold.

Cast your eyes above and you will see the first fully-electric car launched in South Africa in November 2013 – the Nissan Leaf.

If you can afford to fork out, we now have more EV options than ever before. Let’s take a look at three major EV options you can buy right now in South Africa.

Porsche Taycan:

Luxury brand Porsche brought its high-performance Taycan models to local shores in 2020 and continued to expand the line-up into 2021 and 2022.

• Number of models/configurations: 8/16
• Price range: R2 312 000–R4 111 000
• Maximum range: 625km (Taycan GTS)
• Maximum battery size: 93,4kWh
• Charging speed: 270kW

Mini Cooper SE:

The Mini Cooper SE then made its entry in 2020, with an updated version last year carrying the most affordable EV price tag in South Africa.

• Number of models/configurations: 1/1
• Price: R709 400
• Maximum range: 215km
• Maximum battery size: 32,6kWh
• Charging speed: 50kW

BMW iX:

[2021] finished with BMW bringing its second fully electric car to market — the iX SUV.

The iX offers the biggest battery yet of any EV on the market, promising up to 625km of range, based on Europe’s WLTP cycle.

We have covered all the need-to-know basics of this BMW flagship EV for those who want to dig deeper.

• Number of models/configurations: 2/2
• Price range: R1 650 000–R2 200 000
• Maximum range: 630km
• Maximum battery size: 111,5kWh
• Charging speed: 200kW

There are plans to introduce further models in the coming months from the likes of Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW.

You’ll find the four other EVs available to buy in South Africa right now here.

[source:mybroadband]