We’ve been hearing a lot about Tesla’s range of electric cars, including the more ‘affordable’ Standard Range Model 3.

The idea of swapping out fuel for electricity has become popular over the last few years, ever since it became apparent that climate change has taken hold, the price of petrol has skyrocketed, and we probably only have 30 or so years of human civilisation left.

In South Africa, however, the electric car hasn’t really caught on. Here’s MyBroadband with why:

Former Minister of Transport, Blade Nzimande, released statistics in March which highlighted that there were only 867 electric vehicles currently operating in South Africa.

One of the reasons for this low number could be that customers do not trust Eskom to provide them with reliable vehicle charging access.

This is due to the threat of load-shedding and Eskom’s well-documented infrastructural issues.

Consumers might also be worried about the lack of charging stations across the country.

“According to GridCars, the largest installer of public charging stations in South Africa, they will have 200 EV charging stations installed in the country by the end of March 2019 in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover South Africa, BMW South Africa, and Shell South Africa,” Nzimande told BusinessTech.

If you are still keen to make the move from fuel to electric, here are your options in South Africa.

BMW i3

The BMW i3 is a fully-electric hatchback that can accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 6,9 seconds.

It offers up to 135kW of power and up to 270Nm of torque.

It packs in a collection of important safety features including ABS, brake assist, traction control, and six airbags.

Pricing starts at R658 500 for the i3 eDrive, and R716 900 for the i3 s eDrive.

Nissan Leaf

This is a more affordable hatchback, but it doesn’t have the power of the BMW.

It offers up to 254 Nm of torque and up to 80kW of power, resulting in a top speed of 144km/h and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 11.5 seconds.

It includes a 360V battery which lasts for up to 160km, along with ABS, brake assist, and four airbags.

The Nissan Leaf costs R504 975.

Jaguar I-Pace

This luxury all-electric SUV is capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in just 4,8 seconds.

One full charge gives drivers a range of 470km, thanks to the vehicle’s 90kWh battery.

The Jaguar I-Pace is driven by two electric motors, generating 294kW of power and 696Nm of torque.

The I-Pace features six airbags, including coverage for the drive and passenger, the side curtain, and the thorax.

The Jag also boasts cruise control, parking assistance, lane keep assist, high-speed emergency braking, blind spot assist and a rear traffic-monitoring system for reversing.

You can snap it up for just over R1,6 million.

You wouldn’t expect to pay anything less for a Jaguar, would you?

[source:mybroadband]