conducted by The Outlier showed that South Africa only sold 1,080 EVs in 2023 – hundreds of thousands of units behind countries with similar population sizes.“The high price range, lack of variety and charging stations are some reasons why South Africans have been slow to take to the green road,” said The Outlier.
Facing electricity challenges, South Africa has outlined a two-phase policy approach for electric vehicle transition, as detailed in the government’smitigation and adaptation legislation and the associated technological disruptions,” it said in the paper. However, the strategy emphasises producing and exporting EVs rather than boosting domestic demand and sales in its first phases, hoping that this will make South Africa competitive in a booming EV market.