How long your electric car will hold its value in South Africa

Electric vehicles (EVs) in South Africa tend to hold their value quite well, depreciating at a similar rate to top brands, and even outperforming some of the best value-holders in the country.

The undisputed king of value retention in the local market is the Toyota Hilux, which retains around 65 to 70% of its original value after three years, thanks to strong demand, reliability, and brand sentiment.

That being said, ChargePointSA predicts certain EVs to not only match these depreciation figures, but also save consumers hundreds of thousands in running costs over the same period.

The EV charging experts project the BYD Atto 3 to rival the Hilux’s resale figure, while saving owners R140,000 to R171,000 three years after purchase.

“South Africa’s resale landscape is shifting as electric vehicles enter the used market with transferable 8-year warranties and operating costs that undercut petrol by R3,900–R4,765 monthly, depending on your electricity tariff,” it noted.

“While EVs are newer to South Africa, early market indicators suggest promising resale values based on international trends and local demand patterns.”

Because so few three-year-old EVs exist on South Africa’s roads, ChargePoint’s projections below were based on international EV depreciation patterns and local market conditions.

Considering these figures, TopAuto looked at how many of these used models were available on AutoTrader at the time of writing, and how they fared against ChargePoint’s projections.

Interestingly, most of these outperformed the experts’ predictions, highlighting the South African market’s openness to the EV transition, which means they may even retain their value for longer than internal combustion vehicles.

The EVs that retain the most value after three years on local roads

ChargePoint predicted the BYD Atto 3 to be the EV that holds the most value after three years, with a 65% resale value.

What TopAuto found is that it instead held much more than that, with the cheapest used model selling for R549,890, retaining 78.57% of its current market value, despite having completed nearly 50,000km.

The Atto 3’s fellow BYD model, the Seal AWD Performance, recorded similar depreciation figures, with the cheapest used model currently selling for R879,900, or 72.6% of its R1,211,900 new price.

Looking at Volvo XC40 Recharge models, TopAuto could only find a handful of used Twin Motor models available, and all at a price of R829,950, despite their mileage ranging from 12,000km to 21,000km.

That being said, this value represents a 63.94% retention from its R1,298,000 new price, beating ChargePoint’s initial projections.

The same can be said about the used BMW iX1 models on sale in South Africa right now, with the cheapest xDrive30 M Sport selling for R869,000 with around 25,000km on the clock.

Given its R1,255,000 new price, this represents a value retention of 69.24% across three years of ownership, and yet another model that beat the projections.

Interestingly, we only found two GWM Ora 03 models for sale on AutoTrader at the time of writing, but both were 2026 models, which meant they would not meet the three-year age threshold.

ChargePoint noted that while traditional champions like the Hilux or VW Polo remain the kings of resale value, electric cars are closing the gap fast.

“With lower operating costs, transferable 8-year warranties, and growing infrastructure, EVs like the BYD Atto 3 and BMW iX1 offer excellent total cost of ownership,” it said.