to the gross domestic product. 633,332 vehicles were produced in South Africa in 2023. 399,594 vehicles were exported, which was a new record for exports, according to naamsa. On the retail side, including imports, domestic vehicle sales in 2023 increased by only 0.5% year-on-year in 2023 to 532,098 units compared to the 529,556 units in 2022.
This means most of the vehicles available in the global market would end up being quite expensive compared to their equivalent ICE vehicles if they were introduced in South Africa. This price difference would be more prominent in the smaller vehicle segments, making it a bit challenging to sell those EVs. Taxes in South Africa are set at 18% for ICE imports vs 25% for EV imports.
Looking at Q1 2024 and comparing it with Q1 2023, sales of plug-in hybrids seem to show signs of recovery. 138 plug-in hybrids were sold in Q1 2024 compared with just 25 in Q1 2023. Perhaps this is a good time for the introduction of some of the more exciting. On the BEV side, 98 more BEVs were sold in Q1 2024 compared with Q1 2023 .