Fuel price hikes reignite debate on hybrids and electric vehicles

As South African’s brace for sharp fuel price hikes from April, concern is growing over whether motorists have viable alternative, with the debate around hybrid and electric vehicles (EV) taking centre stage once again.

Automotive expert, Alan Quinn, warns that rising petrol and diesel prices could derail what was expected to be the strongest years for the automotive sector in over a decade.

“2026 started as such a positive year. Economists were predicting the best year in the auto industry for probably 13 to 15 years. Now, petrol prices are moving and increasing sharply, which is problem number one. That will hit every industry, because diesel is now much more expensive, which will cause higher inflation,” Quinn said. 

Quinn adds that rising inflation could prompt the South African Reserve Bank to hold or even increase interest rates, instead of implementing expected cuts this year.

He warns this would have serious consequences for the automotive industry, making vehicle financing more expensive and dampening consumer demand.

“The industry cuts that we expected this year, and we expected three interest rate cuts this year. I have severe doubts whether they’re gonna happen now, and that interest rate cut is very material to the industry cause the price you pay for a new car depends on the industry. Industry is coming down,” Quinn added. 

Quinn says hybrid vehicles could emerge as a practical short-term alternative but only if they are priced competitively against traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.

“If the manufacturer’s prices for hybrid vehicles are the same or competitively priced against its equivalent, than hybrid vehicle will sell. Consumers are very positive towards hybrid technology. In our opinion. They just need the right price point from the manufacturer to be able to incentivise them to take the lead from ice across into Hybrid.”

Electric vehicles, he says, offer a longer-term solution, but South Africa’s automotive sector still faces significant challenges in adapting manufacturing to support new energy vehicles.

“Over the last 25 years, we’ve actually built an excellent manufacturing industry in this country. It was built through incentives to manufacturers to localise and make cars locally because the local production of cars gives them tax credits, where they could import cars…The question for those factories now is that they need to upgrade their tools, they need to upgrade their technology to support new energy vehicles, which are hybrids and EV‘s,” Quinn said. 

For now, hybrids appear to be the most realistic alternative for motorists. However, Quinn says stronger policy support and stable economic conditions will be critical to driving adoption.

Government firmly reiterates that South Africa’s fuel supply remains stable in the immediate term, and there is no basis for panic buying.#GovZAUpdates @DMPR_ZA pic.twitter.com/L05jB8Bu5H

— GCIS Media Liaison (@GCISMedia) March 26, 2026