High voltage pricing
The question of whether electric cars are expensive is rather open-ended, and depends on many factors: Where they are being sold, does the manufacturer have import credits, and what will the cost of ownership be over time?
At the moment, electric cars in South Africa are rather expensive, largely due to prohibitive taxes levied on "luxury goods" as well as normal car import tariffs. But, while they may be prohibitively expensive to purchase, the cost of ownership over time is actually quite manageable.
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Many consumers may not know that, if a vehicle manufacturer does not have local production facilities from which they can export in large volumes, they are subject to very high import taxes on the cars that they bring in. This means that, if a manufacturer builds locally and exports cars, they can get a discount on the cars they bring in - a system known as import tax credits.
For brands that don't have this option, the cars they import for local consumption are highly taxed. With electric cars being exclusively imported, they are highly taxed, thus creating very expensive initial sales prices.
Data collected over time has shown that the cost of ownership is actually quite easy on the pocket book, however. Maintenance- and running costs are very often lower than that of an internal combustion vehicle, simply because EVs have fewer moving parts.
The cost of recharging an electric car is also much less expensive, (around half the cost of refuelling an ICE car with regular fossil fuels), even when plugging into the national power grid. Charging costs can be further reduced with the addition of renewable energies (solar or wind generation) to power the charging station.
Currently available
South Africans currently have the choice of four electric cars. The cheapest one is the Mini SE, with the Bavarian auto giant fielding the BMW i3 to back it up.
The Jaguar I-Pace currently rules the roost in terms of sales, with the luxurious Porsche Taycan capping the locally-available variety.
Coming soon
South Africans can look forward to the Audi e-tron range, the BMW iX3, iX, and I4 ranges, with Mercedes due to bring in their EQ range. The Volvo XC40 Recharge has been making waves overseas, and is also on its way to local shores.
Verdict
Unfortunately, most of these manufacturers are subject to the high import taxes on these cars, so their sales prices will remain out of reach for the majority of South Africans - for the time being, at least. The good news is that we are beginning to see more and more models being introduced into SA, so their prices will eventually come down. Once that happens (and as soon as government drops those punitive "luxury-" and import taxes) we can begin to enjoy the cost savings of electric cars.
