South Africa's CHARGE launches off-grid EV stations on Johannesburg-Durban corridor

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 industrialised 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 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.

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