Top EVs sold in South Africa in 2025

Naamsa shared their NEV sales for 2025 in January this year, with some interesting results. While plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sales grew by 280% year-on-year from 738 sold in 2024 to 2808 in 2025, battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales dropped by 17.3% from 1231 sold in 2024 to 1018 in 2025.

But, there was a good reason for BEV sales dropping in official numbers, firstly customers clearly have more confidence in buying PHEVs due to the number of options in the market now, and secondly, BYD notoriously does not report its sales figures to Naamsa.

It’s almost a given that the true BEV sales figure would be much higher if we had numbers from the top EV seller in the world, who overtook Tesla to claim the top spot. BYD currently sells five EV models in SA, the Dolphin Surf, Sealion 7, Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal.

Here’s an overview of the NEV breakdown for passenger vehicles in SA in 2025:

Meanwhile, new PHEV models in SA for 2025 include entrants from the likes of Chinese makers like the Chery Tiggo 7; Haval H6; Jaecoo J7 and Omoda C9.

I chatted SAfm about the NEV sales on the Market Update with Moneyweb on 26 Jan with Jimmy Moyaha. You can listen to the podcast here:

When it comes to total BEV sales that were officially reported, the top brands include the BMW Group (including Mini) at 304 units, Mercedes-Benz with 300 units, Volvo with 265 units and newcomer Stellantis with 68 units, which covers the Leapmotor C10 and the Alfa Junior EV.

The highly anticipated BMW iX3 will be launching in 2026, and according to BMW, customers have been holding off buying EVs until it launches here in the second half of 2026. Recharged was in attendance at the global unveiling of the iX3 in Germany in September 2025.

Here’s a list of the top 10 EV models sold in 2025, source Naamsa:

You can also find my TikTok video for this list here:

@nafisaakabor Top 10 EVs sold in SA in 2025 + total BEV and PHEV sales. Powered by @Naked ♬ original sound – Nafisa | Tech Things

South African consumers can look forward to the following EVs in 2026:

BMW’s highly anticipated iX3 is heading our way in Q3 of 2026, the one with more than 800km of range; Toyota will bring 3 EVs to SA this year, with the Lexus RZ launching in February 2026, plus Volvo is bringing at least two models: the ES90 sedan in Q1 likely and the EX60 SUV later in the year.

It’s been years but we can expect a new Audi etron RS model, Chery’s first electric bakkie, the Himla, plus the Mini Aceman’s first John Cooper Works model. Leapmotor have at least 3 models coming soon on their website, one is REEV and the other two are an electric hatch and compact SUV.

BYD could bring its premium brand, Denza to SA. And I’m sure we will see many more Chinese offerings on SA roads.