Motoring2.07.2025

New cars with a R0 petrol bill in the city — including South Africa’s most powerful bakkie

South Africans who don’t want to switch to fully-electric cars but also want to save money on petrol now have a plethora of affordable plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to choose from.

According to Numbeo, the average South African motorist drives about 44km on their two-way daily commute. A PHEV can typically cover between 50km and 100km using only its high-voltage battery.

Six PHEV models were launched in South Africa in the first half of 2025, with prices under R1 million and an all-electric range greater than 44km. Once again, it was Chinese brands disrupting the status quo.

A key player is the world’s top new energy vehicle (NEV) maker BYD, which launched the Shark 6 bakkie and Sealion 6 SUV in April 2025.

The Shark 6 is South Africa’s most powerful and fastest-accelerating bakkie, trumping the long-standing and undisputed Ford Ranger Raptor, while also undercutting its price tag by more than R250,000.

It will also cost far less to run over the long term, thanks to a 29.6kWh battery pack that supports up to 85km of range on the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test procedure (WLTP) cycle.

Recharging the battery should cost roughly R104 with an energy charge of R3.50 per kWh, working out to an effective cost of R1.22 per km when the battery is charged above 25%.

The Ranger Raptor consumes 14.9 litres of petrol per 100km, which is more than R3 per kilometre at current petrol prices.

The BYD Sealion 6’s R639,900 price tag made it the cheapest PHEV for two months running. However, it was recently dethroned by a model from South Africa’s top-selling Chinese car brand, Chery.

The Chery Tiggo 7 CSH is priced at R619,900 — or R599,900 in a launch promotion — and can achieve 90km of all-electric range on a single charge of its 18.3kWh battery.

Chery sub-brand Jaecoo also offers a sub-R700,000 model — the Jaecoo J7 1.5T SHS PHEV — with the same battery and range as the Tiggo 7 CSH.

Sub-5 seconds sprinters

Another Chery sub-brand, Omoda, started selling the company’s flagship PHEV — a new variant of the Omoda C9 — for R999,900.

It is the most powerful PHEV under R1 million with 440kW power output and 915Nm torque, and features a much larger 34.5kWh battery with up to 150km WLTP range.

Another popular Chinese brand among South Africans, GWM, also recently launched its first PHEV in the country.

The R799,999 H6 GT PHEV can go from a standstill to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds, thanks to a 321kW output and 615Nm torque.

It also boasts the most electric-only range of any PHEV under R1 million, with a 35.4kWh lithium ternary battery that should be capable of achieving well over 100km on a single charge.

Although GWM publicises a 180km all-electric range, that is based on the generous but outdated New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). On the more widely accepted WLTP cycle, the range should be closer to 150km.

Toyota also plans to launch its RAV4 PHEV sometime in the coming months. At R989,900, this will be the only non-Chinese PHEV under R1 million in South Africa.

Below are six new PHEVs launched in South Africa in the first half of 2025, ranked from most affordable to most expensive.