Share of new cars sold that are electric in South Africa
South Africa: Share of new cars sold that are electric was 0.9% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Share of new cars sold that are electric in South Africa, 2013–2025
Source: International Energy Agency. Global EV Outlook 2025. – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of new cars sold that are electric in South Africa is 0.9%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 63.0% on the previous year and up 1,417.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of new cars sold that are electric in South Africa peaked at 0.9% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2014.
That places South Africa 58th out of 58 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of new cars sold that are electric in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 0.0% | — |
| 2014 | 0.0% | -54.7% |
| 2015 | 0.1% | +1605.9% |
| 2016 | 0.1% | +72.4% |
| 2017 | 0.1% | -47.0% |
| 2018 | 0.0% | -22.6% |
| 2019 | 0.1% | +56.1% |
| 2020 | 0.1% | +53.1% |
| 2021 | 0.1% | -10.2% |
| 2022 | 0.2% | +93.2% |
| 2023 | 0.3% | +76.5% |
| 2024 | 0.5% | +80.0% |
| 2025 | 0.9% | +63.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 11.0%, 8% of the median. (12 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of new cars sold that are electric in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +1605.9% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of new cars sold that are electric in South Africa?
- Share of new cars sold that are electric in South Africa was 0.9% in 2025, according to International Energy Agency. Global EV Outlook 2025. – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of new cars sold that are electric recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of new cars sold that are electric recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2014.
- How does South Africa rank for share of new cars sold that are electric?
- South Africa ranks 58th out of 58 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of new cars sold that are electric rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1,417.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from International Energy Agency. Global EV Outlook 2025. – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of new cars sold that are electric. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Electric cars include fully battery-electric and plug-in hybrids.