{"id":91513,"date":"2026-09-04T13:23:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/?p=91513"},"modified":"2026-09-04T13:23:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:23:18","slug":"outlier-171-electric-vehicles-eskoms-profit-stadium-flyover-women-home-buyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/2026\/09\/04\/outlier-171-electric-vehicles-eskoms-profit-stadium-flyover-women-home-buyers\/","title":{"rendered":"Outlier #171: Electric vehicles, Eskom’s profit, stadium flyover, women home buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\ud83d\udeeb\u00a0This week\u2019s only topic of conversation, as far as I can tell, was the\u00a0stadium flyover\u00a0<\/a>ahead of last week\u2019s rugby match between the Springboks and the All Blacks. There were a remarkable number of aviation experts on my social media timeline this week. And those that weren\u2019t airline experts were marketing specialists: Is all publicity good publicity? Even a visit to the doctor didn\u2019t pass without some opinion sharing in the waiting room. My favourite contribution though was a game:\u00a0Flappy Link<\/strong>. Details below \ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u26a1\ufe0f The only other topic that just about broke through the roar of airline commentary was the\u00a0profit announced by Eskom<\/strong>. Recovering from a R55-billion loss to a R30-billion profit in two years is outwardly impressive but the problems faced by Eskom are far larger than they would initially seem. More below \ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udca1 A quick ask:<\/strong>\u00a0This newsletter is supported by people like yourself. If you can, please consider supporting us with a\u00a0subscription or donation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude4f PS.<\/strong>\u00a0Thank you to reader Marina for the donation and for pointing out that the\u00a0Outlier donation link<\/a>\u00a0had gone missing on our website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this week\u2019s newsletter:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfe6 Results:<\/strong>\u00a0Last week\u2019s poll on bank fraud<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude97 Supercharged plug-in hybrid vehicle sales<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\uddf3\ufe0f Poll:\u00a0<\/strong>Why aren\u2019t you buying an electric vehicle?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u26a1\ufe0f Eskom\u2019s power performance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfe1 Women home buyers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udec6 Murder on the Cape Flats<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udeeb\u00a0Fun:\u00a0<\/strong>In a flap about \u2018that\u2019 flyover<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcac What you said<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Last week we asked:\u00a0Have you ever lost money to bank fraud or a scam?\u00a0<\/strong>You said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some comments:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mine happened a few years ago. My cell phone was cloned. Two beneficiaries were created and two amounts just short of R10 000 each were stolen. [The bank] recovered about R10 000. The remainder was my loss. –\u00a0<\/em>Aubrey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maxine\u00a0<\/strong>said she\u2019s been defrauded twice and takes precautions:\u00a0Sometimes I ask a bank employee to come with me while I withdraw money from an ATM.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude97 Plug and ride<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The balance of South Africa’s new energy vehicle market is shifting rapidly, with plug-in hybrids reaching a new milestone in the second quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for 54.6% of new energy vehicle sales in Q2 of 2026, making it the first quarter in which plug-ins represented more than half the market. This marks a significant change from a year earlier, when they accounted for 22.9% of sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conventional hybrids have seen a dip from 90.3% of sales in Q4 2024 to just 45.4%, even though the number of units sold has remained relatively stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shift has been driven primarily by the rapid growth of plug-in hybrids. Sales increased from just 18 units in Q4 of 2022 to 3,346 in Q2 of 2026. However some of this significant change can be attributed to more companies reporting their data to Naamsa starting in Q2 of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest figures also show a sharp increase in the size of the market as a whole. Total new energy vehicle sales almost doubled from 4,585 in Q1 2026 to 8,611 in Q2 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If sustained, the Q2 figures suggest the market may be entering a new phase in which plug-in vehicles are no longer a niche market but the majority of the NEV market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udcac Have your say:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is stopping you buying an electric vehicle?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Click an option below to vote, see the results and comment<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude97\u00a0Nothing! I already drive electric<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude99 Nothing! My next car will be electric<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcb0They’re still too expensive<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\ud83d\uddfa\ufe0f Worried about the limited drive range<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\ud83d\ude98 Never! I want the engine roar and petrol fumes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u26a1\ufe0f Power cycle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The volume of electricity sold by Eskom reached a record-low in its 2025\/26 financial year, yet it still made a record profit of R30.3-billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom sold 21% less electricity last year compared with 2007\/08. It\u2019s the lowest gigawatt-hours of electricity sold in at least 18 years. In its latest annual report, Eskom said sales have decreased by 2% every year over the last decade, driven by a decrease in industrial demand \u2013 thanks to the closure of ferrochrome smelters for example \u2013 and the growth of embedded self-generation such as rooftop solar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, Eskom had more capacity to generate electricity in 2026 than it has had for years. Its nominal power station capacity, the maximum electricity its power stations can generate if all of them were generating electricity, rose by 22% since 2007\/08. Eskom says that, for the first time in a decade, it has surplus capacity of around 2-3GW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what about that profit?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Eskom may be selling less electricity, but perhaps its most amazing feat is to turn a profit of R30.3-billion after tax. It\u2019s Eskom\u2019s second successive year of profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an impressive turnaround, built on the back of hefty government bailouts, borrowing and increased tariffs for users. But, as renewable energy expert\u00a0Frank Spencer writes on LinkedIn<\/a>, the turnaround is far from complete. \u201cNot only are they not out of the woods yet, the woods are burning\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfe1 Her home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In Johannesburg more women bought homes as sole owners than in any of the other big metros in 2025. But it\u2019s Ekurhuleni, next door to Johannesburg, where the share of homebuyers who are solo women has grown fastest: from 38% of buyers in 2015 to 44% in 2025, according to data from Lightstone Property. Johannesburg, Tshwane and eThekwini\u2019s shares of solo women buyers barely moved over the same period, while Cape Town’s share actually dipped slightly from 37% to 35%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price offers a partial explanation. Ekurhuleni was the cheapest of the five metros to buy a home in 2025, at an average of R1.06-million, about half of Cape Town\u2019s R2.07-million. Ekurhuleni\u2019s home prices grew more slowly too, up 35% from R784,600 in 2015. This is compared with a 52% rise in average home prices in Cape Town and 49% in Tshwane. But affordability doesn\u2019t fully explain the pattern. Johannesburg\u2019s average home prices grew the slowest among the five metros at 25% and saw no real increase in the share of solo women buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more: Lightstone\u2019s Hayley Ivins-Downes\u00a0spoke to Moneyweb about the data<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udd2b Hold your fire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In April 2026, about 200 soldiers were deployed to the Cape Flats as part of \u201cOperation Prosper\u201d, which is expected to last until 31 March 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

646 people were murdered on the Cape Flats between April and June this year \u2014 95 fewer than the same period last year. That amounts to an average of seven people a day, down from eight last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the extent to which the army is contributing to this small decrease is uncertain. Murders in the last quarter of the 2025\/26 financial year (Jan-March 2026) were already lower than the same period in 2024\/25. So the decrease started before the army was deployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also too soon to tell whether these two quarters of decreasing murders are the start of a trend, or just random variation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A previous army deployment in 2019 was followed by three consecutive quarters of decreasing murder rates in the Cape Flats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full\u00a0<\/em>GroundUp article here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around the web<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How low can you go?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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If you\u2019re still talking about the stadium flyover at last week\u2019s rugby then you\u2019ll enjoy this game:\u00a0Flappy Link<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for a link to all references for this newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1386,1387,1380],"tags":[67,1475,917,965,50,1429,40],"newsletter-post":[],"site":[],"class_list":["post-91513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-publication","category-the-outlier","category-this-week-in-charts","tag-eskom","tag-home-buyers","tag-hybrid-cars","tag-hybrid-vehicles","tag-johannesburg","tag-plug-in-hybrid-vehicles","tag-south-africa"],"acf":{"big_number":"","big_number_caption":"","big_number_link":"","big_number_background":"","big_number_text_colour":"#000000","big_number_icon":false,"big_number_wide":"yes","featured_chart":false,"flourish_chart_id":"","flourish_sub_title":"","flourish_chart_width":"medium","is_newsletter_post":"No","post_style":"bc","show_on_front":"Yes","link_through":"Yes","chart_url":"","background_colour":"#0089AA","text_colour":"#FFFFFF"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91513"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91523,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91513\/revisions\/91523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91513"},{"taxonomy":"newsletter-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter-post?post=91513"},{"taxonomy":"site","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/site?post=91513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}