South Africans’ appetite for new-energy vehicles, especially full-electric vehicles (EVs), has increased significantly during the past year. This is based upon in-depth analysis of the used-car data of Cars.co.za, which attracts around 2 million unique users a month (according to Narrativ), and the new vehicle content that have drawn the most user interest on the leading automotive portal.
“To put it simply, the demand for used hybrid or full-electric vehicles on our site outstrips supply,” says Hannes Oosthuizen, Consumer Experience Manager at Cars.co.za. “Finding a pre-owned BMW i3, for example, is no simple task and, when you do find one, expect to pay a premium…”
“When we compared data from the first six months of 2022 with that of the corresponding period in 2021, we discovered that demand (calculated with the use of several key indicators) for hybrids went up by 67.7% Year-on-Year (YoY), while demand for full EVs increased by a staggering 155.5% YoY,” Oosthuizen says. “It is worth keeping in mind, however, that these increases come off a relatively small base,” Oosthuizen adds.
“Of course, Demand is also stimulated by Supply, and this has been the case in the past year as a result of greater product availability. The introduction of a number of hybrids by South Africa’s most popular brand Toyota, in particular, drove up interest to some extent.
“We have seen tremendous interest in the new hybrid models of Haval as well. Interestingly, when it comes to this Chinese brand in general, we have seen a demand increase of 367.7% YoY, indicating that there is far more demand relative to stock availability.”
“Another very important factor to keep in mind is the rapid increase in the price of fuel, and the fact that fewer turbodiesel models are being introduced – particularly at the affordable end of the market,” Oosthuizen says.
“Of course, we’re still waiting for the arrival of truly affordable EVs in the new-vehicle market, but when we analyse the behaviour of our site visitors who put through enquiries (on any vehicles), we find those people are increasingly researching hybrids and EVs in their purchasing journeys.
“This is a clear indication that consumers who are genuinely in the market for a new car, are considering new-energy vehicles much more strongly than before,” he concludes.