Naamsa Launches National EV Charging Network to Accelerate South Africa's Electric Vehicle Transition
Key Insights
Naamsa is initiating a national network of 120 EV charging stations to address South Africa's critical infrastructure deficit and accelerate electric vehicle adoption.
Despite global EV sales surges, South Africa lags due to limited public charging infrastructure, retailer capital constraints, and high vehicle import costs.
South Africa possesses significant mineral wealth crucial for EV battery production but lacks the domestic processing and manufacturing capabilities to capitalize on it.
Consumer affordability, range anxiety, and uncertain resale values remain significant barriers to widespread private electric vehicle ownership in the country.
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) is spearheading a critical initiative to accelerate the nation's electric vehicle (EV) transition, commencing the rollout of 120 publicly accessible EV charging stations across major transport routes. This move comes as South Africa significantly lags global EV adoption trends, with only fewer than 400 public charging stations compared to over 4,800 licensed petrol stations, despite global EV sales topping 17 million in 2024.
Forecourts, by their established geography and existing infrastructure, are ideally positioned to facilitate this transition, according to Shivani Singh, Naamsa’s Chief Projects Officer. However, retailers face significant hurdles, including limited capital for diversification and constraints imposed by location and oil company agreements, as noted by Timothy Oliver, a fuel specialist at Connect Group South Africa. The current landscape often sees fragmented ownership, with average retailers managing multiple sites, complicating investment in new profit centers like EV charging.
Naamsa’s new network aims to rectify the current unreliable public charging infrastructure. The rollout will include both AC and DC fast chargers, strategically placed to ensure usability and reliability. This commitment to robust public infrastructure is essential for building consumer confidence and addressing range anxiety, a common concern among potential EV buyers.
South Africa possesses substantial mineral wealth vital for the EV battery supply chain, including over half of the world’s cobalt, manganese, and lithium reserves, as highlighted by Yael Shafrir, Associate Director at Webber Wentzel. Despite this, the country lacks the domestic processing and manufacturing capabilities to fully capitalize on these resources. Most EV charging hardware is currently imported, primarily from China, leading to challenges with spare parts and repairs.
In a strategic policy shift, South Africa’s Section 12V tax incentive, enacted in December 2024 and effective March 1, 2026, offers a 150% deduction for local manufacturers of EV parts. This incentive signals a crucial alignment between industrial policy and trade, aiming to foster localization. Leiandra da Silva, an economist at Nedbank, points out that South Africa’s imports are currently growing faster than exports, underscoring the need for domestic production. Naamsa’s project seeks to partner existing charging service providers with local businesses to install and maintain infrastructure, and eventually produce components, aligning with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s automotive master plan.
Despite these infrastructure and policy advancements, consumer affordability remains a significant barrier. Fully battery electric vehicles typically exceed R900,000 per unit, while 74% of new cars sold in Q1 2025 were under R500,000, according to Naamsa’s chief economist. Beyond cost, range anxiety and uncertain resale values deter potential buyers. Singh suggests the logistics and transport sector, particularly bus and truck fleets, are better positioned for early EV adoption due to fixed routes, depot-based charging, and access to industrial electricity tariffs, offering a pragmatic pathway for initial market growth.