Volvo South Africa Opens Orders For The New Volvo EX30 Compact SUV
The Volvo EX30 was launched recently by Volvo and will be available in several markets around the world. There is a lot of excitement around Volvo’s new compact SUV, and rightfully so given its impressive specs. You can have a look at these two articles from Kyle Field and Chris Boylan here on CleanTechnica for some good perspectives on Volvo’s latest battery-electric vehicle. Chris writes that the EX30 will give the Tesla Model Y a run for its money, and Kyle says the Volvo EX30 is A Compact Electric SUV For The Masses.
Well, we can’t get the Tesla Model Y in South Africa, but the good news is the Volvo EX30 is coming to South Africa as one of the launch markets around the world. Volvo South Africa has announced that South Africans can now order the EX30, and pricing for the compact SUV will start from R775,900 ($40,574). This is an awesome development. The move by Volvo to open orders for a new BEV in South Africa at the same time as some of the major auto markets in the world is a major shot in the arm for the South African electric mobility sector. South Africans have for a long time had to wait quite a bit for some BEVs to be introduced into the market. Not this time, thanks to Volvo Cars South Africa. The EX30 is set to go into production soon and is expected to arrive in dealerships in several markets early next year, and South Africa is one of them.
Volvo is really stepping it up a notch in South Africa. Just last week, Volvo launched the C40 in the South African market. The C40 starts from R1,285,000 ($67,230). This falls into the same price bracket as several BEV models already in South Africa, such as the BMW iX1. The South African BEV landscape has been traditionally characterized by the premium models from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Volvo — electric vehicles that start from well over R1 million ($51,000). There is some hope, though, as more affordable models are starting to come to South Africa. The upcoming Ora Good Cat/Funky Cat will help shake things up in the South African market. The Ora Cat’s pricing for South Africa was announced recently. As reported in the local media, the Ora Cat will start from R716,900 ($37,000) for the 63 kWh battery version. Models with higher trims will go up to R915,900 ($47,100). And now the Volvo EX30 will join the sub-R1million list and will surely help shake things up in the South African EV sector.
The Volvo EX30 will play a big role in helping to catalyze the growth of BEV sales in South Africa. The South African market desperately needs more BEV models. In the first four months of 2022, 138 battery-electric vehicles were sold in South Africa. Now, one year later, sales of battery-electric vehicles have doubled over the same period. 284 battery-electric vehicles were sold in South Africa from January to April of this year, representing a 105.8% change, according to reports released by naamsa.
Chip in a few dollars a month to help support independent cleantech coverage that helps to accelerate the cleantech revolution!
In the overall market, 175,678 units of domestic vehicle sales were recorded from January to April 2023, an increase of 2,291 units or 1.3% compared to the same period last year. The 284 battery-electric vehicles sold during that period means that BEVs are still only 0.16% of sales in South Africa. Another BEV from Volvo, the XC40, topped the BEV sales charts in South Africa in Q1 of this year. The Volvo XC40 topped the charts with 66 units, followed by the BMW iX3 with 44 units, the BMW iX with 43 units, the Mini Cooper SE with 32, and the BMW i4 rounded off the top 5 with 12 units. Expect the EX30 to have a say in the sales charts in South Africa in the near future once deliveries start.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
