In a country plagued by load-shedding, the concept of electric vehicles (EVs) may seem like a punchline to an unfunny joke. But as the world keeps driving towards a future fueled by alternative energy, South Africa needs to keep up if they wish to be a progressive nation. So, before your power goes out, let’s dive into the latest electric vehicle sales statistics.
In 2022, electric vehicle sales grew globally by 53% year-on-year to total over 10.2 million units. Just a few years ago, this would have been deemed impossible. However, it is clear that the motoring landscape has shifted quite rapidly in a short period of time. Currently, the biggest brands that offer EV models globally include BYD, Tesla and VW. It’s predicted that EVs will reach nearly 17 million units in 2023.
If we focus our attention on South Africa, records haven’t been broken yet but there are still some huge movements being made with regard to EVs. In fact, South Africa had an extremely successful start to 2022 in the electric vehicle sector.
“In the first three months of 2022, South Africa sold over 1,400 electric vehicles. This is more than 2020 and 2021 combined,” said the chief executive of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert.
While we could end this article with silly electricity jokes about “getting left in the dark” and “shedding light on electric vehicles”, it becomes difficult when the future is looking so bright. Don’t be shocked, we take our coverage of current events very seriously.
