Eleksa to launch R200 000 CityBug electric car in South Africa this month

10th September 2021

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Pretoria-based electric mobility importer Eleksa will introduce the CityBug on the South African market this month.

The vehicle, described as an urban electric vehicle (EV), is a two-door four-seater, and will be priced at about R200 000.

Eleksa’s Anton Jordaan says charging the vehicle will cost about 15c a kilometre, with the price for a full charge an estimated R15.

The vehicle’s range is 100 km, but this can be upgraded to 200 km. The vehicle recharges to 100% in six hours from a normal plug point.

The top speed is 60 km/h.

The CityBug offers air conditioning, navigation, central locking, a sound system, an Android in-car screen, a USB port and electric windows. There are no airbags.

Eleksa also aims to import a small bakkie, a delivery van and a family sports-utility vehicle.

Engineering News & Mining Weekly spoke to Jordaan about the CityBug.

EN & MW: Please tell us about Eleksa. AJ: Eleksa, in one form or another, is now in its seventh year of operation. Phillip Geyer started the business. Initially, he imported electric scooters and quads. The company has grown from nine vehicles sold in the first year, to 90 vehicles in the second year.

Eleksa is currently the retail arm of the business and Electric Vehicle Investors (EVI) is the importer and distributor. EVI also takes care of local regulations and homologation, as required.

We have a growing number of investors that have also opened their own Eleksa branches. Currently, more than five branches actively sell vehicles.

Our passion is EVs of all types, but our specific focus is on smaller, lower-cost vehicles.

What products do you currently offer to the domestic market? Who are your biggest clients? We offer mostly commercial-sector vehicles. These are scooters and quads for the security and leisure industries, three-wheel scooter bakkies (the Impi) for farmers, as well products for the delivery and hospitality industries.

We also provide mobility vehicles for the elderly or disabled. For private individuals, we offer GoKarts, scooters, mobility vehicles and electric bikes.

Our biggest market is security companies and farmers of all types. We are also seeing that more and more retail businesses are buying electric delivery vehicles.

Your newest addition is the CityBug. Tell us a little bit about this vehicle. We imported a small electric bakkie from China a few years ago, called the Pickman. This project wasn’t successful, but we learned from that experience.

After the Pickman bakkie, we went searching for a small car or bakkie that was fully compliant to international standards and already homologated overseas.

When we found the G-EEC [CityBug], we contacted the supplier in China and the distributor in the UK.

Since the vehicle is fully homologated in right-hand-drive configuration in the UK, we knew that the G-EEC (called the Saturn CityBug in the UK) was a viable option.

R200 000 is fairly inexpensive for a new EV, but what do you think will make people buy this car over a used vehicle? We have many retired customers using our mobility vehicles. However, some people prefer a bigger vehicle like a golf-cart, but since a golf-cart is not road legal, its use is limited.

The CityBug will provide an easy and low-running-cost solution for many journeys in retirement villages, as well as out to shops and into town.

The passion we see from our customers for EVs gives us confidence that this vehicle will be a success.

We also have a number of businesses interested in using the CityBug as a delivery vehicle, security vehicle, short-range people transporter and so forth.

The interest from early adopters and enthusiasts is a wildcard that may, or may not, turn into sales.

Has the CityBug been homologated for the South African market?
We do all our imports in full compliance and with approvalf rom the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS). The vehicle will only be allowed on the road after final inspection by the NRCS.

Does the CityBug have an NCAP safety rating, or a Chinese equivalent? No, it does not yet have an NCAP rating in South Africa or the UK.

Where, geographically speaking, will the vehicle be available in South Africa?
We have Eleksa dealerships in most major cities in the country. We have the first vehicles available in Gauteng and demonstrate and exhibit them as far and wide as possible.

How will the vehicle be sold and supported in South Africa? We will provide customers with the normal vehicle finance options, and support will be through our dealerships.

As we are focused on business customers, support is a critical function. This has been part of our approach from our inception. We are already able to support many hundreds of vehicles and will continue to grow our network.

Does the CityBug have prescribed service intervals? There are no drivetrain service items requiring regular service. The oil in the differential needs to be checked. The rest is all safety-related maintenance, such as on brakes, wheel bearings, steering, lights and tyres.

Will the vehicle be sold with a service/roadside assistance/maintenance plan and/or guarantee? At this time those details have not yet been finalised, but a guarantee will be included. Our other vehicles are sold with a one-year guarantee.

What is the expected battery life? We calculate that 2 000 charge cycles will result in 80% capacity after ten years. This will vary with actual usage cycles.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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