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EV vs petrol running costs in South Africa: a worked comparison

By EasyGov (Pty) Ltd editorial team · Last updated 1 November 2026

"Electric cars are cheap to run" is true, but how cheap depends on where you charge, how far you drive and which petrol car you compare against. This guide walks through the same method our tools use at cars.randswitch.com/upgrade and cars.randswitch.com/ev, with real South African prices and every assumption shown.

The method in one paragraph

Monthly energy cost = distance × consumption × price. For a petrol car: km ÷ 100 × litres per 100 km × rand per litre. For an EV: km ÷ 100 × kWh per 100 km × rand per kWh, plus 10% for charging losses when you charge at home (public chargers bill what goes into the car). Manufacturers' claimed consumption is measured in lab tests, so our upgrade tool adds 30% for real-world driving. That figure comes from ICCT research, which found real-world gaps of 33% to 39% on comparable tests.

The prices we use

Your own electricity tariff matters a lot. Use our home charging calculator (cars.randswitch.com/charging/home) to plug in your municipality.

Worked example: Geely E2 vs VW Polo Vivo

We compare the cheapest new EV on our tracker, the Geely E2 Aspire, with a popular petrol hatch, the Polo Vivo 1.6 Style. Data comes from our comparison database (prices and claimed consumption from manufacturers, built 18 October 2026).

At 1 500 km a month, claimed figures, all home charging

• E2: 15 × 15.2 = 228 kWh. Add 10% losses = 250.8 kWh. × R3.60 = R903 a month.
• Vivo: 15 × 6.2 = 93 litres × R30.25 = R2 813 a month.
• Saving: about R1 910 a month.

Same distance, real-world (+30%)

• E2: R1 174 a month. Vivo: R3 657 a month. Saving about R2 483.

What if you can't charge at home?

Even on 100% public charging the E2 stays cheaper than the Vivo in this example, but the gap shrinks by more than R1 000 a month. If you live in a flat with no plug, this matters.

Distance changes everything

For reference, the Road Traffic Management Corporation's figures put the average car at about 15 458 km a year, roughly 1 290 km a month nationally. Our tools default to about 1 150 km a month for Gauteng.

Break-even

The E2 costs R15 300 more to buy than the Vivo. At a real-world saving of about R2 379 a month (10% public charging), the price gap is recovered in roughly 6 to 7 months. Over 5 years, purchase price plus energy comes to about R416 620 for the E2 and R544 034 for the Vivo. That excludes insurance, finance, servicing and resale, which we do not estimate.

When an EV does not win

The comparison above is unusually kind to the EV because the E2's price is close to the Vivo's. Most EVs on our list cost much more than comparable petrol cars. Our /ev page listed 28 EVs up to R800 000 on 1 November 2026. Our upgrade tool will tell you to keep your current car when:

• the monthly saving is under R800; or
• the extra purchase cost takes more than 6 years to recover (8 years in our low-saving case).

Example where the maths is slow: Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 Xi petrol (R429 100, 6.7 L/100km) vs Corolla Cross 1.8 Hybrid XS (R511 200, 4.3 L/100km). At 1 500 km a month on claimed figures, the hybrid saves about R1 089 a month, so the R82 100 price gap takes about 75 months (6.3 years) to recover. With the +30% real-world uplift the saving is about R1 416 and break-even is about 58 months.

Load-shedding and charging

A typical home wallbox draws about 7 kW, more than most home inverters can supply. Plan to charge outside outages, or from solar in the daytime. A 3.6 kW wall-socket charge is slower but easier on a backup system. Ask a registered electrician before installing a charger.

Ranges, not single numbers

Petrol and electricity prices change. Our upgrade tool shows a low, base and high case: fuel ±10%, electricity +15% or −10%. In the November 2026 levy relief period (see our petrol price guide) petrol should be cheaper for a while, which narrows the EV saving slightly. The official November price was not yet published on 1 November 2026.

FAQ

Is R3.60 a kWh right for me? Possibly not. Municipal tariffs use blocks, so your extra kWh may cost more than your average. Use cars.randswitch.com/charging/home.

Does battery degradation change this? It affects range and resale more than running cost. The E2's battery warranty is 8 years / 200 000 km.

What about servicing? EVs have fewer moving parts, but we have not found reliable published South African servicing costs for every model, so we do not estimate them.

Do you sell cars or get paid by brands? No. We take no money from car dealers, finance or insurance companies, and nobody can pay for a ranking (see randswitch.com/independence).

Related tools

• Should I switch? cars.randswitch.com/upgrade
• How the upgrade tool works: cars.randswitch.com/upgrade/how
• Electric cars list: cars.randswitch.com/ev
• Compare two cars: cars.randswitch.com/compare
• Home charging cost: cars.randswitch.com/charging/home

Sources

• DMPR, Fuel prices (7 Oct 2026 adjustment): www.dmpr.gov.za/Branches/Petroleum-Resources/Fuel-Prices (accessed 1 Nov 2026)
• Fuels Industry Association of South Africa, 2026 fuel prices (cross-check of R30.25 inland): fuelsindustry.org.za/consumer-information/fuel-prices-current-past/ (accessed 1 Nov 2026)
• RandSwitch Cars upgrade tool methodology, including ICCT, RTMC, City Power, NERSA and charging-network references: cars.randswitch.com/upgrade/how (accessed 1 Nov 2026)
• RandSwitch Cars comparison data and EV list (our own data, manufacturer prices): cars.randswitch.com/compare and cars.randswitch.com/ev (accessed 1 Nov 2026)
• RandSwitch Cars home charging calculator: cars.randswitch.com/charging/home (accessed 1 Nov 2026)