At R400k, the Dayun Yuehu S5 reckons it is now SA’s most affordable electric car

It’s been a few months since the last time an EV claimed to be the most affordable of its type in South Africa. The newly launched Dayun Yuehu S5 has turned up to claim the crown of “most affordable EV on SA roads”. At R400,000 for the base model S5 and R450,000 for the co-called VIP model, the Chinese brand may be right.

If you haven’t heard of Dayun, you’re not alone. We were similarly mystified by the name when information about the S5 landed on Stuff‘s collective desk. It’s being brought into the country by Enviro Automotive, a local importer of battery-powered vehicles.

Dayun Yuehu look good!

The Dayun Yuehu S5 has been around for quite some time. Since 2017, in fact. It just hasn’t been in South Africa, though it has turned up in several countries under different titles. The five-door form factor is larger than the other dinky Chinese car you might have seen on local roads, the Bajaj Qute. The Yuehu S5 will also outperform the diminutive petrol vehicle’s 70km/h top speed by 30km/h. That’s not bad for a budget car and should stand it in fair stead as an in-city commuter.

Dayun has fitted this little EV with a 35kW front motor and a 31.7kWh ternary battery. This lends itself to a claimed 330km of range on a charge (100km per 10kWh) but we’d bank on you getting a little less than that, particularly in winter. It’ll charge to full from a 220V socket in about four hours and top up to 80% via a DC fast charger in a little under an hour, according to Enviro Automotive.

A range of assists, including hill start and cruise control, are included as standard. The stock Dayun Yuehu S5 includes reverse assistance, tyre pressure monitoring, keyless start, central locking, and ISOFIX-compatible seats. The VIP version ups the game to feature front and rear radar sensors, alloy wheels, and front fog lamps. Both vehicle models sport 7in and 8in displays. The former is for infotainment and the latter is for control, though we’re not sure exactly how they’re split. The S5 VIP also has a SmartLink app if you’d like to remotely control some features of your little EV.

How long this affordable price will stick around is uncertain. According to Enviro Automotive MD Gideon Wolvaardt, “Only eight units from our first batch of Dayun Yuehu S5 remain after customers placed their orders months in advance. We suggest prospective buyers contact us and pre-order to benefit from our attractive launch pricing.” This suggests that the Dayun Yuehu S5 may yield the affordability crown back to the BYD Dolphin at some point, but that’s just speculation on our part.