South Africans would like to own EVs

As part of its multi-market research, Ford spoke to South African car owners and those looking to buy a new car to understand how they viewed electrified vehicles so that it could be better prepared in its pursuit of an electric future.

“This research highlights the need for continued efforts to educate the public about electrified vehicles (*1), address concerns about cost, range and infrastructure and promote the benefits of electric mobility,” says Sunil Sewmohan, executive director, Product Marketing at Ford South Africa.

The research revealed key insights into South African drivers, including:

• Nice and familiar: South Africans are relatively familiar with electrified vehicles, with most respondents classifying them as being ‘fun to drive’, ‘cool’, ‘sporty’ and even ‘easy to own’.
• More than 30 percent of respondents said they’d ridden in an electric vehicle (*3) with 19 percent claiming to have driven one, more than 70 percent said they’d read about electric vehicles.
• Infrastructure concerns: Almost half of respondents in South Africa say they weren’t aware of any public charging sites within 20 kilometres of their home. Twenty percent of respondents claimed to be concerned about the power network, with 47 percent saying they were concerned about electric vehicle (*3) charging infrastructure.
• Service stations ranked highest as the preferred location for charging sites, followed by shopping centres and office buildings.
• Barriers to purchase: According to almost three-quarters of those surveyed, possible future load-shedding in South Africa would impact the decision to choose a battery electric vehicle. Similarly, 70 percent said charging infrastructure would affect their decision to purchase a battery electric vehicle.
• Looking for capability: Almost 71 percent of respondents say they would be ‘more likely’ to purchase an electric vehicle with ‘greater’ towing capacity, while 70 percent are looking for their first electric vehicle to be off-road capable. And there are still concerns that an electric vehicle can’t carry as much luggage/payload as an equivalent vehicle with an internal combustion engine.
• Preferred electrified vehicle type: When it comes to the type of electrified vehicle those surveyed are considering, hybrid vehicles came out on top, followed closely by plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, pure battery electric vehicles ranked third.
• Use case: Most respondents agreed they would be ‘more likely’ to use an electric vehicle (*3) for providing grocery delivery services and ride sharing and that they would prefer an electric vehicle for their daily commute.
• Pros & Cons: Saving money by not buying fuel was rated as a top benefit of owning an electric vehicle (*3), but many believed maintenance costs for electric vehicles (*3) were higher in the long run.
• Love connection: If you’re looking for love, then you can forget roses, because almost 70 percent of the respondents said they would be ‘more likely’ to date someone who drove an electric vehicle.
• Myth-conceptions: But there are still ‘myth-conceptions’ giving some potential buyers pause for thought. For instance, just under 40 percent of respondents believed charging an electric vehicle at home was as expensive as filling up a gasoline-powered vehicle.

*1 Electrified vehicle (EV) refers to hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles.

*2 The survey was conducted by global research and analytics consultancy, Escalent in April/May 2024 covering 1470 people across Australia, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates.

*3 Electric vehicle refers to a vehicle with a rechargeable battery and no internal combustion engine to support it.