Electric vehicles (EVs) are far less likely to be hijacked or stolen than other types of cars in South Africa.
EVs are not a high priority for criminals as they lack the types of parts commonly sold on the black market, and are not in high demand both in and outside the country.
Benefits of a niche market
Hijackings are a crime largely driven by supply and demand, which is why the most targeted models tend to appear on the list of South Africa’s best-selling cars.
Over the last 12 months, Fidelity Services Group revealed 13 high-risk vehicles that criminals are gunning for, which includes the following:
- Ford Ranger
- Hyundai i20
- Nissan Almera
- Nissan NP200
- Toyota Corolla Cross
- Toyota Corolla
- Toyota Etios
- Toyota Fortuner
- Toyota Hilux
- Toyota Prado
- Toyota Land Cruiser
- Toyota RAV4
- VW Polo
Notably absent from this list are EVs, which isn’t surprising given that they currently make up a small fraction of all the cars sold in South Africa.
The lack of demand means these models aren’t of much interest to hijackers who are looking to steal and quickly sell a vehicle for a profit.
At the same time, the fact that EVs are still a rare sight on the roads means they will draw far more attention when someone tries to sell a stolen model, whereas the ubiquity of something like the Toyota Hilux means trying to sell an ill-gotten bakkie is more likely to fly under the radar.
However, cars are not just stolen to be used in South Africa, as enormous smuggling operations are trying to move vehicles across the border into neighbouring countries like Mozambique, Lesotho, and Zambia.
Bakkies and 4×4 SUVs like the Hilux, Ranger, and Fortuner are the most sought-after units for this purpose, as they are in high demand in other parts of Africa for their practicality in less developed areas.
Again, EVs do not fit this bill, as a battery-powered car won’t be of much use in a region with no charging infrastructure.
With all that being said, there is one aspect of EVs that is a potential risk for hijackings – their parts.
Many cars are not stolen to be re-sold, but are actually stripped down for their components to be circulated on the black market since the average model in South Africa is estimated to be around 11 years old.
EVs contain a lot of valuable parts, most notably their batteries, which can account for up to 40% of a model’s manufacturing cost.
Certain EVs such as the BYD Atto 3 also support vehicle-to-load (V2L) charging, which allows the battery to discharge power back into devices – a particularly useful feature in South Africa as an EV could be used to power a home during load-shedding.
Despite this, there have been no reports of EVs having their batteries removed in South Africa, according to MyBroadband.
Part of this is due to the fact that an EV’s cell is integrated into the body of the car, usually under the floor, and requires special tools to remove the shielding, making it far more complicated to take out than the battery in a traditional combustion model.
EV batteries are also incredibly heavy, weighing nearly half a tonne on average, so they aren’t something you can quickly make off with.
Another factor that makes electric vehicles harder to steal is that their inner workings are still unknown to most criminals.
Most new cars, including EVs, are fitted with security features like built-in GPS trackers, external and internal cameras, and smartphone alert systems, which can be difficult to find and disable if you aren’t familiar with the vehicle’s architecture.
Contrast this with the cars on the most-hijacked list such as the VW Polo or Toyota Etios, which are very simple in their design relative to an EV, and can be taken apart in minutes by well-practiced crews.
All of this indicates that EVs are simply not worth the hassle for criminals, as there is little demand for them across Africa and they do not have components that can be easily removed or resold.
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