Volvo Car South Africa has reported that the new Volvo EX30 is already proving exceptionally popular with local buyers, having accounted for almost a third of total electric vehicle (EV) sales in the country over the first four months of 2024, while also claiming the title of SA’s best-selling electric car.
Over the same period, the Volvo brand boasted a remarkable 46% share of the overall EV market in South Africa, thanks to the astonishing sales performance of the EX30 – which, starting at just R775 900, is one of the country’s most accessible fully electric cars – as well as sizeable contributions from the likewise battery-powered C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge.
During the first four months of the year, the EX30 made up 30.8% of the country’s total all-electric vehicle sales (and 67.3% of Volvo’s own electric-car registrations), making it the most popular EV by a considerable margin. According to figures reported to industry representative body naamsa, the XC40 Recharge – which was SA’s best-selling EV in 2023 – took second place, accounting for 12.8% of registrations in this space.
Greg Maruszewski, Managing Director at Volvo Car South Africa, points out that the EX30 model range was responsible for much of the local EV segment’s year-on-year growth during the first four months of the year.
“If we were to remove the EX30 from the equation, sales of fully electric vehicles in South Africa would be decidedly flat. In fact, consider this: the EX30 accounted for virtually one in every three electric cars sold in South Africa during the first four months of 2024, while almost one in every two EVs registered during this time wore a Volvo badge,” said Maruszewski.
Volvo’s performance in the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) category was similarly impressive, with the XC60 Recharge plug-in hybrid and XC90 Recharge plug-in hybrid making up 21.4% of all sales in this class over the opening four months of the year. In 2023, these models placed first and second, respectively, in the PHEV space.
Every derivative in Volvo Car SA’s line-up features some form of electrification, ranging from mild hybrids to PHEVs and EVs. This is in line with Volvo’s goal of half its global sales volume comprising fully electric cars by 2025, with the remainder taking the form of hybrids. By 2030, the Swedish luxury firm plans for every new vehicle it sells to be completely electric, demonstrating its steadfast commitment to a zero-emission future.
