Guides / Guide
What does an electric car cost to run in South Africa?
Electricity is a lot cheaper than petrol per kilometre, and that is the main running-cost argument for an EV. How much cheaper depends on where you charge. Prices below are for October 2026 and change, so use them as a guide and check current figures.
The numbers
Using the middle of the electric cars in our database, an EV uses about 18 kWh per 100 km. A typical petrol car uses about 7 litres per 100 km.
| Fuel | Price | Cost per 100 km |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol 95 (Gauteng inland, from 7 October 2026) | R30.25 per litre | about R212 |
| Electricity at home, a cheaper Eskom tariff | about R2.70 per kWh | about R49 |
| Electricity at home, typical municipal rate | about R4.00 per kWh | about R73 |
| Public fast charging (DC) | about R7 to R8 per kWh | about R125 to R145 |
So charging at home costs roughly a quarter to a third of what petrol costs per kilometre. Public fast charging is still cheaper than petrol, but by much less, which is why most people charge at home and use fast chargers on long trips only.
Petrol rose by R3.33 a litre on 7 October 2026, which was a record increase, so the gap has widened. Fuel prices are reset every month, so check the current price.
A year of driving
At 15 000 km a year, petrol at about 7 litres per 100 km costs roughly R32 000. The same distance charged at home at R4 per kWh costs roughly R11 000. That is a saving of about R20 000 a year. The saving shrinks as you do more of your charging at public fast chargers. Your own figure depends on your car, tariff and driving, so do the sum with your numbers.
Plug-in hybrids
A PHEV gets the electric rate only for the kilometres it drives on battery. If you plug in every night and your daily distance is within its electric range, most of your driving is cheap. If you rarely plug in, you pay petrol prices and carry a heavier car. See PHEV or EV.
The costs people forget
- A home charger: roughly R17 000 to R35 000 installed according to one 2026 guide. See home charging.
- Purchase price: electric cars cost more to buy. Imported EVs carry 25% import duty, compared with 18% on petrol cars, and there is no buyer subsidy that we could find.
- Servicing: EVs have fewer moving parts and no oil changes, so routine servicing is usually cheaper, but tyres can wear faster because of the weight and torque.
- Insurance: can be higher, partly because of the price of the car. Get quotes.
- The battery: warranties of 8 years are common, but the distance limit varies from 100 000 to 200 000 km depending on the brand. Check the exact terms for the car you want, and see the warranty on its page.
- Depreciation and resale: the second-hand EV market in South Africa is still young, so resale values are uncertain.
How we calculate cost per 100 km on Electrix
On each car page, the cost per 100 km is the car’s consumption multiplied by a home electricity rate. We currently use R3.00 per kWh, which is on the low side for many municipal customers. Use the tariff on your own bill for a better number.