The entire world has reshifted its focus to promote more sustainable solutions to those we currently use. A major one is petrol-powered vehicles, which are slowly being replaced by electric-powered ones. In South Africa, EVs have been mostly unaffordable for the middle-to-lower class. Enter the Eleksa CityBug – the most affordable EV on the market in SA currently.

We reported on the launch of the CityBug back in mid-2021, but the vehicles weren’t yet licenced for local roads. Now, Eleksa’s tiny EV is ready to ship to the driveways of interested South Africans for R230,000.

CityBugs crawling on SA roads

The Chinese-built car measures in at just over 3m long and offers a 100km range – this can be increased to a whopping 200km for an additional fee. People looking for that exhilarating torque and speed that electric powertrains offer will be fairly disappointed here, with a max speed of 60kmph.

According to Eleksa, a full charge will cost around R15, or 15c per km. You can even charge it on a standard 220V power socket, which will take up to 6 hours for a full charge.

Turn your attention inside, and you’ll find a few surprising quality-of-life features, including artificial leather upholstery, a large touch-screen infotainment system that features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and Bluetooth connectivity. There are an undisclosed number of USB ports, a reverse camera, air conditioning and even electric windows. That’s not even mentioning the 12-in alloy wheels.

The brand isn’t well-known to the general public, but it generally sells EV bikes, scooters, trikes and ATVs. This is the brand’s first electric car in the SA market, and according to Cars.co.za, it plans to bring more EVs into the country, including an electric bakkie in May 2022.