South Africa’s cheapest and most expensive plug-in hybrid

Motorists looking to make a change in their garage by trading in their conventional combustion-engine car for a new energy alternative, like a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), may want to consider the costs first.

Plug-in hybrids are by no means cheap in South Africa. They far exceed the price of petrol and diesel cars, and in most cases, pure electric cars as well.

The most affordable car on sale in South Africa right now is the petrol-consuming Renault Kwid, with a price tag of R178,799, while the cheapest electric car, the Geely E2, demands R339,900.

By contrast, the cheapest PHEV in South Africa, the BYD Sealion 5 Comfort, has a sticker price just shy of R10,000 less than buying one of each of the country’s cheapest petrol and electric cars.

Still, its R509,900 price tag is nowhere near the country’s most expensive plug-in, which just so happens to be a R13 million Italian supercar – the Lamborghini Revuelto.

While these two plug-ins could not be more different, their underlying configurations are fundamentally the same.

Both keep their petrol engines, which are no longer solely responsible for powering the vehicles, as they are joined by electric motors to help shoulder the weight.

The Sealion 5 pairs a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine with a single front-mounted electric motor and an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (E-CVT), resulting in a combined output of 156kW and 300Nm.

The Revuelto, on the other hand, pairs a massive 6.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol V12 with three battery-powered motors – one on each front wheel and one integrated into its eight-speed, dual-clutch gearbox at the back of the supercar.

Combined, these produce no less than 747kW while the engine produces 725Nm of torque, and the electric motors add 350Nm.

This impressive configuration, combined with all-wheel drive, sees the Raging Bull sprint to 100km/h in 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed over 350km/h.

How they compare

The two plug-ins may share some DNA and a similar layout, but they serve vastly different markets, serving completely opposing purposes.

Beyond their shared configurations, nearly every other aspect of these two vehicles differs, as can be seen in the table below.

On paper, South Africa’s cheapest and most expensive plug-in hybrids may be worlds apart, but at the heart of it, they represent the two extremes of a single concept.

With new energy vehicles (NEVs) gaining traction and plug-ins becoming a more popular choice in South Africa, we may soon start to see cheaper alternatives to these, but for now, they remain a somewhat expensive option.