Motoring1.04.2025

Hybrid cars made in South Africa — including two you can’t buy

By Myles Illidge

Some of the world’s largest car manufacturers produce their traditional hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and mild hybrid models in South Africa, with eight hybrids of different types produced in the country.

However, while the likes of Toyota’s Corolla Cross Hybrid, Hilux 48V, Fortuner 48V, BMW X3 30e xDrive, Mercedes-AMG C43, and Mercedes-AMG C63SE Performance are available locally, some of the hybrids produced in the country aren’t sold locally.

Several types of hybrid vehicles are produced in South Africa, so it’s important to differentiate between the technologies.

Traditional hybrids, such as the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, combine an internal combustion engine with an electric motor and a small battery during acceleration, resulting in lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

The engine can act as a generator to charge the battery when it runs low, and the battery also charges through regenerative braking. As a result, the battery never has to be plugged into an external power source to charge.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) use relatively large batteries compared to traditional hybrids. This enables them to run using minimal fuel when the battery is charged.

It also enables electric-only driving on many models, meaning drivers don’t need to consume fuel for shorter distances.

PHEVs are charged through external power sources.

Mild hybrids use a small electric generator instead of a traditional starter motor and alternator.

The benefit of this is the generator provides some power during fuel-intensive activities like rapid acceleration or restarting after stopping, resulting in lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Like traditional hybrids, mild hybrids can harvest energy during braking, charging the battery to provide further electric assistance.

Ford produces the Ranger PHEV at its Silverton plant, but the units produced are exported to international markets and aren’t sold in South Africa.

The same can be said for the Mercedes-Benz C300e, which the carmaker assembles at its East London plant and several other plants worldwide.

Ford announced its plans to produce the first-ever Ranger PHEV at its Silverton manufacturing plant in November 2023.

It invested R5.2 billion to upgrade the plant to facilitate the production of the PHEV.

According to Andrea Cavallaro, operations director at Ford’s International Markets Group, the upgrades include a new battery pack assembly plant inside the main facility.

Vehicle assembly lines were also upgraded to accommodate the new Ranger’s trim, chassis, and final line.

This includes new handling equipment, turnover fixtures, charging systems, leak detection, testing equipment, and repair areas.

“As with the current Ranger models, the new Ranger Plug-in Hybrid will be exported to Europe as part of our commitment to offer a wide range of powertrain options for customers in this important mid-size pickup segment,” said Cavallaro.

“For the first time in about two decades the Silverton plant will also be supplying vehicles to Australia and New Zealand, as it will be the source market for the Ranger Plug-in Hybrid for these countries.”

Toyota launched its first hybrid powertrains for the Hilux and Fortuner in South Africa in March 2024.

The powertrains feature a 48V mild hybrid system coupled with a 2.8-litre turbo diesel engine. Both models’ powertrains are available in various trims, including three Fortuner and six Hilux variants.

Toyota says the 48V system provides 12kW of output and 65Nm of torque, which delivers improved throttle response and more linear acceleration.

Shortly after launch, Toyota told MyBroadband that the mild hybrid Fortuner and Hilux sold well in their first full month of availability.

It provided figures on the share of sales made up by its mild hybrids:

Share of the 2.8 Hilux Raider: 17%
Share of the 2.8 Hilux Legend: 19%
Share of the 2.8 Fortuner: 25%
Share of the 2.8 VX Fortuner: 39%

Mercedes-Benz and BMW also produce hybrid variants of some of their popular models in South Africa. For BMW, it’s the X3 30e xDrive, which is also available to purchase locally.

Mercedes-Benz produces the Mercedes-AMG C43, Mercedes-AMG C63SE Performance, and the C300e in South Africa. Of those, only the C300e isn’t sold locally.

The eight hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles produced in South Africa are listed with basic specifications below.