Naamsa has finally released official sales figures for new-energy vehicles (NEVs) – that is, fully electric vehicles (EVs), traditional hybrids (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) – in South Africa for 2024. Here’s what happened in this steadily growing section of the market.
According to the industry representative body, collective NEV sales (note, Naamsa seemingly doesn’t include mild hybrids in this group) from the 21 brands active in this space last year increased 100.6% year on year to 15,611 units. That means NEVs comprised 3.0% of Mzansi’s total new-vehicle market for 2024 (515 853 units), up from 1.47% in 2023.
Last year’s 15 611-unit performance was, of course, a record for NEV sales in South Africa. As a reminder, this part of the local market enjoyed significant year-on-year gains of 421.7% (to 4 674 units) in 2022 and 65.7% (to 7 746 units) in 2023, though obviously off comparatively low bases.
According to Naamsa, sales of fully electric vehicles for Q4 2024 came in at 184 units, down from 209 units in Q4 2023 and likewise down from 324 units in Q3 2024. By our maths, that puts South Africa’s EV sales total for 2024 at 12,57 units, up 35.3% year on year and eclipsing the previous high of 929 units achieved in 2023. Take note, however, that this figure excludes local sales from BYD, which unfortunately doesn’t currently report sales numbers to Naamsa.
Interestingly, sales of plug-in hybrids in Mzansi in Q4 2024 outstripped those of fully electric vehicles, ending the 3-month reporting period on 260 units (more than double Q4 2023’s effort). However, our calculations suggest plug-in hybrids were still outsold by EVs locally over the whole of 2024, with PHEVs ending the year on 728 units (again, more than doubling 2023’s tally of 336 units). It’s our understanding the BMW X1 xDrive30e was SA’s best-selling PHEV last year.
Finally, that brings us to traditional hybrids, which yet again accounted for the overwhelming majority of NEV registrations in 2024, mostly thanks to dual-powered versions of the Prospecton-built Corolla Cross (which we’d estimate represented nearly 75% of this segment’s sales). In the final quarter of the year, as many as 4,157 units were registered, which – based on our arithmetic – pushes the HEV figure for 2024 to 13,604 units (a 108.7% year-on-year improvement).
This article was originally published on Cars.co.za...
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