GenX is driving South Africa’s electric vehicle adoption

GenX is driving South Africa’s electric vehicle adoption, with GenZ waiting in the wings

SOUTH AFRICA’S move to electric mobility is accelerating. In the first eight months of this year, motorists bought 18,945 new energy vehicles according to naamsa | The Automotive Business Council figures. This already surpassing the 16,703 units sold in the whole of 2025, with four months of the year still remaining. The newly-released 2026 Cars.co.za Industry Report, which combines Cars.co.za marketplace data, consumer surveys, and Absa vehicle finance data, gives some analysis on who is driving this change.

Absa's finance data in the report paints a clear picture of South Africa's electric vehicle buyers. The typical battery-electric buyer is 43 years old, lives in a city and buys new. Some 79 percent of electric vehicle finance applicants buy a new vehicle, compared with 39 percent of petrol and diesel buyers, and more than half are based in Gauteng.

Across all new energy vehicles, Generation X is the driving force, accounting for 35 percent of new energy vehicles finance applications, which is nearly double its 20 percent share among buyers of conventional cars.

“First-mover consumers and businesses are appreciating lower operating and maintenance costs with electric vehicles,” says Hiten Parmar, Executive Director of The Electric Mission. “The events unfolding in the Middle East are also a catalyst for greater energy independence. Electric mobility provides an efficient way to move people and the goods associated with everyday life.”

Loyalty is already taking root. Some 18 percent of today's electric vehicle buyers owned an electric vehicle before, which the report calls an early sign of repeat-buyer loyalty in the category. The next generation is waiting in the wings.

Gen Z makes up only 8 percent of new energy vehicle applications for now, but the Cars.co.za report notes that younger consumers are more open to alternative powertrains. The report also expects the rapid growth in these new vehicles to flow into the used market, where Gen Z buyers will be able to enter at a lower price point.

The long-term trend is clear, and naamsa figures show battery-electric sales rose 96 percent in the first quarter alone, and March set a monthly record. 2026 is on course to be the best year yet. The Cars.co.za marketplace tells the same story. Electric vehicles made up just 0.02 percent of listed stock in 2020 and by this year make up 0.37 percent, while their share of buyer leads has grown nineteen-fold.

New, more affordable models, are fuelling that interest. The Geely E2 Aspire is now the most enquired-on electric vehicle on Cars.co.za, while the BYD Dolphin Surf leads at model level. BYD alone accounts for 61 percent of electric vehicle finance applications.

Running costs are a powerful draw. The report puts the energy cost of a battery-electric vehicle at about R0.34 per kilometre, against R1.50 for an equivalent petrol or diesel car. Fuel price swings this year showed how quickly South Africans respond, and diesel demand fell sharply from March to May 2026, as prices spiked.

With growing buyer loyalty, a younger generation ready to follow, and a widening choice of models, South Africa's electric future is firmly on the move.