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Car · break-even

Electric or hybrid car — when does it pay?

An electric car costs more to buy and less to run. Pick a car class, choose electric or hybrid, and see the year — and the kilometre — the fuel and servicing you save cover the extra price.

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How we calculate it

  • Year 0 is the extra price, as a minus — what the electric or hybrid car costs over the petrol version.
  • The petrol car’s fuel comes first — kilometres a year x litres per 100 km x the fuel price that year.
  • An electric car pays for electricity instead — kilometres x kWh per 100 km x the electricity price that year.
  • A hybrid still burns fuel, just less; a plug-in hybrid drives part of its kilometres on electricity and the rest on fuel.
  • Servicing saved is per kilometre — an electric car has no oil, plugs or gearbox to service and wears its brakes less.
  • Break-even km = the payback years x the kilometres you drive a year, marked on the graph with the year.
  • Rand as spent, not today’s money; insurance, tyres, resale value and a battery replacement are left out.

We calculate; we never name a dealer or tell you which car to buy. The presets use published list prices so you can see the sums — put in the deal you are actually offered.

Where the typical figures come from

  • Small hatch: VW Polo Vivo 1.4 Life R271 900, 5.5 L/100 km; BYD Dolphin Surf Comfort R341 900, 12.9 kWh/100 km claimed. cars.co.za prices, TopAuto, 2026, cars.co.za Dolphin Surf review, VW Polo Vivo spec sheet 2026.
  • SUV: Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 XS R458 400 (6.8 L/100 km), 1.8 Hybrid XS R501 100 (4.3 L/100 km); BYD Atto 3 Standard R699 900 (15.6 kWh/100 km WLTP). cars.co.za Corolla Cross, TopAuto hybrid savings, cars.co.za Atto 3.
  • Sedan: Toyota Corolla 1.8 Hybrid XR sedan R584 400 — the petrol 2.0 XR (last listed R570 800) has been dropped; BYD Seal Lux R999 900. cars.co.za, Corolla goes hybrid-only, TopAuto, BYD Seal.
  • Bakkie: Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 SRX double cab 4x2 auto R658 500 (diesel); BYD Shark 6 Premium plug-in hybrid R989 900, 29.6 kWh battery, 85 km electric range (WLTP) = about 34.8 kWh/100 km. No fully electric bakkie is on sale in SA. cars.co.za Hilux 2026, TopAuto Shark 6, Shark 6 battery and range.
  • Servicing: R0.34 a km for a petrol Polo against R0.13 for a BYD Dolphin — the R0.21 a km the electric presets save; 18 000 km a year and R3.40 a kWh come from the same comparison. cars.co.za, 5-year cost of ownership, 2026.
  • Fuel price R30 a litre: inland 95 projected at R29.98–R30.04 from 7 October 2026. Fuel increases — Low 3%, Moderate 6%, High 9%: High is the 2016–2026 average (R11.74 in February 2016 to ~R30), Low the SARB’s 3% inflation target. BusinessDay, 2026, GlobalPetrolPrices.
  • Electricity increases — Low 6%, Moderate 9%, High 13%: the same NERSA figures as our solar calculator. Engineering News, 2026.
  • Our estimates, not sourced: the Corolla 2.0 (6.3 L/100 km), Corolla Hybrid sedan (4.0), Seal (16 kWh/100 km) and Hilux (8.0) consumption, the Shark 6’s 60% of km on electricity and 9.0 L/100 km on fuel, the Moderate fuel increase, and no servicing saving for a hybrid. Real driving usually uses more than the claimed figures, on both sides. Use your own figures.