South African Electric Vehicle infrastructure firm Zero Carbon Charge (CHARGE) launched the first of two off-grid, solar-powered charging stations along the key Johannesburg to Durban N3 corridor on Tuesday.
The rollout highlights a growing push to expand charging infrastructure in Africa’s most industrialized economy as electric vehicle adoption accelerates, even as grid constraints and energy insecurity pose challenges to large-scale electrification.
The Eskom power utility has limited capacity and reliability, constrained by ageing infrastructure, transmission bottlenecks and recurring power cuts. It was not designed to accommodate a surge in demand from charging electric vehicles.
Recent data point to growing momentum in South Africa’s EV market. AutoTrader, the country’s leading digital motoring marketplace, reported a 45% year-on-year increase in EV searches between February and March 2026, with engagement rising more than 200%.
New energy vehicle sales rose 7.1% to 16,716 units in 2025 from 15,611 units in 2024, following a sharp 100.6% increase in 2024, according to industry body, National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (naamsa). The market is still nascent in South Africa, with NEVs’ share of total new vehicle sales at 2.8%.
The new stations, positioned on one of the country’s busiest freight and passenger routes, are designed to operate entirely off-grid, underscoring a strategy to decouple EV charging from South Africa’s constrained electricity system.
“By building off-grid EV charging infrastructure along key transport corridors like the N3, we are reducing dependence on volatile fuel prices while creating greater energy and transport cost stability over the long term,” CHARGE co-founder and chair Joubert Roux said at the launch event.
CHARGE plans to expand rapidly from the N3, targeting installation of 60 stations nationwide by the end of next year, before adding further sites to create a denser network.
While the rollout is initially focused on passenger vehicles, CHARGE is also targeting commercial transport, including truck charging hubs, Roux told Reuters.
Source: Reuters
