Karmactive Team
Toyota will launch three electric cars in South Africa in early 2026, its first step into the country’s small but growing electric vehicle market. This move comes as Chinese brands like BYD join European competitors already selling electric cars in South Africa.
“We’re launching battery electric vehicles at the beginning of 2026, so we will have three new battery electric vehicles,” said Toyota South Africa CEO Andrew Kirby at a recent auto conference.
Toyota’s first electric car in South Africa will be the BZ4X, arriving in 2025 before the three-model rollout in 2026. Toyota already leads South Africa’s hybrid market with 67% of hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales in 2024. The popular Corolla Cross hybrid has helped build this strong position, giving Toyota a solid foundation as it enters the fully electric market.
Kirby explained that Toyota isn’t betting on just one technology: “We do not believe that one powertrain is going to dominate in the future. So we’ll have internal combustion engines, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles and potentially even a carbon neutral internal combustion engine.
The company will first import its electric models, with plans to eventually make them locally. This step-by-step approach makes sense given South Africa’s EV challenges – high import taxes, few charging stations, and unreliable electricity supply.
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Electric cars currently face a 25% import tax in South Africa, compared to just 18% for regular cars. These higher taxes, plus other costs, keep electric car prices high and limit their market share to only 0.24% of all car sales in 2024.
Kirby described South Africa’s car industry as at an “inflection point,” with flat production, decreasing local content, and more imported cars. Toyota and six other major manufacturers have asked the government for policy changes, including tax structure updates and rebate system improvements.
“We do have some taxation structures that are a little bit counterproductive and so we’ve made some fiscally neutral policy proposals,” Kirby said. The government could announce short-term policy changes within six months.
Volvo currently leads electric car sales in South Africa, followed by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, but Toyota’s entry in 2025-2026 could reshape the market as more South Africans consider switching to electric vehicles.
