Nearly a year after President Cyril Ramaphosa hinted at tax rebates or subsidies for electric car buyers, there has been little obvious movement.
At Naamsa | The Automotive Business Council’s South African Auto Week conference last October, Ramaphosa said the country was considering introducing incentives to encourage not only the local manufacture of new-energy vehicles but also tax rebates for those looking to move to the technology.
Now Charge (formerly Zero Carbon Charge) – a company building a network of 120 off-grid EV charging stations across South Africa – has called on trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau to “urgently reduce the excessive tax duties on importing EVs into South Africa”, describing the move as “a critical step to developing and strengthening a viable EV market”.
The company said it has written a letter to Tau, imploring him to end the penalisation of electric cars through high duties.
“Currently, imported electric vehicles are subject to a 25% import duty, plus an ad valorem tax that can reach up to 30% depending on the vehicle’s value, while internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles – including those with high carbon emissions – generally face only an 18% import duty, or 15% if imported under certain trade agreements,” it said.
“South Africa’s current EV import duties, which make EVs far more expensive than ICE vehicles, are actively stalling market growth,” said Joubert Roux, founder of Charge.
“This import duty has not been opposed or objected to by the current original equipment manufacturers and entrenched industry players who risk doing more harm than good by resisting the inevitable shift and blocking practical measures to stimulate EV adoption.”
‘At a crossroads’
The local manufacturing industry also needs tariff relief, he said.
“South Africa risks not only losing competitive ground to global markets but will also leave its logistics and transport sectors dangerously unprepared for upcoming carbon regulations.
“We cannot say we want to accelerate EV adoption while looking in the rear-view mirror. We need action and accessible EV markets, which will then act as a flywheel to energise the local market and create critical mass for the manufacturing of EVs and batteries in South Africa. The infrastructure is in place and growing, and support for stimulating an EV ecosystem is urgently required before we fall behind countries such as Morocco, Kenya and others, where regulations are more welcoming than South Africa,” Roux said.
Read: South African car exports show grit as Trump tariffs bite
“South Africa is at a crossroads,” he continued. “We can either take decisive steps now to remove the barriers that prevent EV adoption and grasp this opportunity to become the leading EV player in Africa, or we can watch as our manufacturing, logistics and energy sectors fall behind global competitors.” — © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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