The electric cars fighting to be the cheapest in South Africa

For around six months, since September 2025, the BYD Dolphin Surf held the crown as South Africa’s cheapest electric car, a title that has since been snatched by the Geely E2.

BYD is the best-selling electric vehicle (EV) brand in South Africa, and has stated clearly that it is not willing to be drawn into a local price war.

Despite this, Geely has shown that it can compete with its Chinese EV rival, having overtaken BYD globally, and now undercutting its budget offering in South Africa by R2,000.

The Dolphin Surf’s R341,900 price tag made it the cheapest EV in South Africa by far, but the R339,900 E2 now holds that distinction.

Steve Chang, managing director of BYD Auto South ​Africa, told Reuters that the automaker is not chasing numbers in South Africa, at least for now.

“We are doing things a bit differently, slower in other people’s opinion. But we’re trying to build a brand,” he explained.

In China, car brands often get involved in price wars, undercutting rivals with massive discounts, and driving car prices ever lower.

Chang explained that frequent price cuts could undermine these vehicles’ future resale values.

“We don’t want to discount our people too much because we care about the first buyers, ​we care about the ​registry value of the ⁠vehicle, we care about the brand value,” he said.

BYD will instead focus on “price parity” in South Africa, offering its electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles at prices that are comparable to conventional petrol or diesel models, rather than selling cars at discount prices.

Chang said the company has prioritised educating consumers about the brand and EV technology more broadly, having spent “a lot of money and resources” on market education.

“We’re very patient. We know we need to work with ​South Africa’s pace, introduce the product step by step,” he concluded.

South Africa’s cheapest EVs

The Dolphin Surf is available in two specifications, the Comfort and Dynamic, while the E2 sells in the Aspire and Apex.

Both BYD models feature a single front-mounted electric motor that generates 55kW and 135Nm, while the Geely models are fitted with a single rear-mounted motor good for 85kW and 150Nm.

As a result the Dolphin Surf accelerates from standstill to 100km/h in 14.2 seconds, reaching a top speed of 130km/h, the same as the E2, which boasts a quicker 11.5 second 0-100km/h time.

The Comfort derivative of the BYD features a 30kWh battery pack that grants it a range of 232km, increased to a 38.8kWh battery and 295km range in the Dynamic.

Both E2 variants feature a common 39.4kWh battery, allowing for a driving range of up to 325km on the WLTP cycle.

Regarding their charging capabilities, the Comfort supports DC charging speeds up to 30kW, while the Dynamic can support a faster speed of 40kW, achieve a 30 to 80% charge in under 30 minutes.

The E2 supports both 7kW AC charging, and 70kW DC charging allowing for a 10% to 100% in six and a half hours, or a 30-80% recharge in 25 minutes.

Both the BYD and the E2 support vehicle-to-load (V2L) charging, allowing owners to use their car’s battery to power external devices.

Finally, the Dolphin Surf’s price includes a 3-year/100,000km warranty, a 3-year/60,000km service plan, and an 8-year/200,000km battery warranty.

The E2 improves upon this with a 4-year/150,000km vehicle warranty, an 8-year/200,000km battery warranty, a 3-year/200,000km service plan.