A group of motoring enthusiasts, backed by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (naamsa), recently completed a round trip between Johannesburg and Cape Town in a convoy of electric vehicles, highlighting both the potential and the infrastructural challenges of long-distance EV travel in South Africa.
The journey, undertaken in February 2026, involved five electric vehicles: a Volvo XC40, a BMW iX50, a Mercedes-Benz EQE 350+, a BYD Seal, and a Volkswagen ID.4. Although the scenic route offered a demonstration of EV capability, participants encountered difficulties related to the availability and reliability of charging infrastructure.
This isn’t the first attempt to traverse the significant distance between South Africa’s two major cities in an electric vehicle. In March 2023, motoring journalist Justus Visagie and co-driver Michael MacIntyre set a record of 19 hours and 6 seconds for the Johannesburg to Cape Town drive in a Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ sedan, tracked by Netstar. They utilized GridCars public chargers, stopping in Laingsburg, Beaufort West, Colesberg, Bloemfontein, and Ventersburg for approximately 33 minutes per charge. Visagie noted at the time that charging to 100% slowed the charging rate and that pre-planning was essential to avoid stations impacted by load-shedding.
A previous record, of 20 hours and 17 minutes, had been set the prior year by Visagie and TV presenter Ernest Page in a BMW iX xDrive50, also verified by Netstar. The 2023 run demonstrated a range of approximately 500km on a full charge, though the team typically charged only to 80% to optimize charging time.
More recently, in October 2025, a Mercedes-Benz EQV 300 electric van completed a journey from Johannesburg to Cape Town and onward to Knysna, further testing the limits of EV range and charging availability. In February 2025, a similar EV road trip exposed shortcomings in the charging network, a concern echoed in the latest undertaking.
Details regarding the specific challenges faced by the 2026 convoy are still emerging, but the trip underscores the need for investment in a more robust and reliable charging infrastructure to support the growing adoption of electric vehicles in South Africa.
