As fuel prices remain volatile and operating margins tighten, both businesses and individual motorists are being forced to look beyond the sticker price when choosing vehicles.For commercial fleet operators, the conversation has shifted. According to Everlectric, which manages over 200 electric vehicles for clients including Woolworths, DHL and FedEx Express, the total cost of ownership for a fleet EV is typically about 15% lower than that of an equivalent petrol or diesel vehicle.
The company's modelling, comparing a Maxus eDeliver 75 against a comparable four-tonne internal combustion vehicle, suggests savings of R600 000 over five years, and R1-million over seven years, once operating costs, maintenance, energy and residual values are included
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Wesley van der Walt, CFO and co-founder of Everlectric, notes businesses are no longer approaching the EV question out of curiosity. "They're no longer asking if EVs work — they're asking how quickly they can deploy them without risking uptime or cost overruns."
Industry observers point out the mistake many businesses make is comparing the purchase price of a combustion vehicle to that of an EV. While a combustion vehicle may be cheaper to buy, fuel, maintenance, servicing, downtime and residual value all influence the real cost over its working life .
Fuel exposure remains the biggest hidden cost. Diesel prices move for reasons largely unrelated to a delivery business — oil markets, exchange rates, supply shocks and geopolitical events all play a role.
With South Africa refining less than 35% of the fuel it consumes domestically following the 2022 closure of the Sapref refinery, the country remains acutely exposed to international crude prices and currency fluctuations . EY-Parthenon modelling has projected that diesel could approach R35 a litre by early 2027 in a severe scenario .
EVs offer a different exposure. Maintenance is another overlooked area — electric vehicles have fewer moving parts and lower routine servicing requirements, which can reduce workshop time and running costs . For high-use vehicles, those smaller differences accumulate month after month.
The same logic that applies to commercial fleets also applies to private motorists, though the scale and usage patterns differ.
A practical example comes from a MyBroadband journalist who tracked a year of ownership with a used 2023 GWM Ora 03 GT. Driving 15 000 km over 12 months, he spent R9 752 on electricity, averaging R0,65 a kilometre. Had he kept his previous Kia Sonet with an assumed fuel consumption of 6,2 l/100km, the petrol bill would have come to R20 116 — a saving of roughly R10 300.
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This aligns with broader calculations from Zero Carbon Charge, which estimates that an EV driver could save up to R200 000 over seven years compared with a petrol hatchback, assuming annual driving of 25 000km and a mix of home and public charging.
The principle is the same whether applied to a delivery van doing 5 000 km a month around Johannesburg or a private car doing 1 250 km on the school run and commute. The full cost of ownership — purchase price, energy, maintenance, insurance and residual value — tells a more complete story than the showroom price alone.For fleet operators, the route profile is critical. A truck doing repeat urban deliveries should not be assessed in the same way as a vehicle running long-distance freight to Cape Town . If the route is predictable, the mileage is high and the vehicle returns to base each night, the EV case becomes much easier to test.
The same logic applies to private users. Someone with a predictable daily commute and access to overnight charging at home will see a more compelling case than someone who relies entirely on public charging infrastructure. The key is whether the vehicle's daily range matches the typical usage pattern.
The higher upfront cost of EVs still makes many hesitate, even when the long-term total cost-of-ownership case is strong. For businesses, this has given rise to alternative ownership models such as EV-as-a-Service, where the vehicle, charging infrastructure, maintenance, telematics and operational support are bundled into a managed service .
For private buyers, the options are more limited, but falling prices — the Geely E2 is now available from R339 900 — are opening the market .
Raymond Schulz of Merchant West Fleet Solutions notes that companies are moving towards off-balance-sheet leasing options, not just for EVs but for vehicles generally. The aim is to fix monthly costs, transfer asset risk and adapt fleet costs as business conditions change .
The calculation must still be realistic. Savings depend on mileage, payload, charging cost, diesel or petrol price, maintenance, residual value and how the vehicle is used. Change the assumptions and the number changes.
For suitable commercial routes within the vehicle's daily range, the cost of staying with combustion may now exceed the perceived risk of moving . For private motorists, the same arithmetic applies — but only if they do the sums.
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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