Electric car drivers in South Africa should expect longer waits at public fast chargers over the coming summer holidays, MyBroadband reported on 31 October. Electric car sales have grown much faster than the number of public chargers, and the publication cites a source in the charge point operator industry who believes queues at these stations will get very bad.

Sales have jumped

Brands that report to the industry body naamsa sold 3 217 electric cars from January to September 2026, up 301%, according to MyBroadband. Some brands that do not report to naamsa, including Geely, Dongfeng and iCaur, are believed to have added at least 2 500 more, which would make at least 5 717 electric cars sold in South Africa in 2026 so far. In an earlier report, on 20 October, MyBroadband attributed a conservative estimate of about 2 500 to Geely alone.

By comparison, roughly 4 502 electric car registrations had been reported to naamsa by the end of 2025, a running total since the Nissan Leaf went on sale locally in 2014. MyBroadband notes, though, that import data from GreenCape suggests the real number could be closer to 7 900. Rising plug-in hybrid sales also add to demand at public chargers.

Few new fast chargers

According to the report, the GridCars and Rubicon networks have between 300 and 400 locations, and new DC fast-charging capacity has been limited to a few projects:

  • Zero Carbon Charge added 12 DC and four AC chargers at two N3 sites, Roadside and Tugela.
  • GridCars announced a R40-million upgrade in July 2026 to replace older units limited to 500 V, upgrading some chargers to 120 kW and replacing their slower AC connector with a second DC connector.
  • SAEV Charge runs three sites in the Western Cape.

In a Facebook poll cited by MyBroadband, about 57% said they expected public charging to become a big problem.

Car makers under pressure

Hilton Musk of Rubicon told MyBroadband that Chinese car makers have not invested enough in public charging. The report recalls that BYD's Stella Li told Bloomberg in October 2025 that the company was aiming to roll out between 200 and 300 fast public charging stations in South Africa by the end of 2026. So far, according to MyBroadband, BYD has rolled out only a few slow AC chargers, at Menlyn Mall.

Some operators are acting to keep bays free. According to the report, Rubicon warns of idle fees at sites such as Mall of Africa, and Chargify has a 45-minute limit at Benmore Gardens in Sandton.

What drivers can do

For a long holiday trip, the report suggests building overnight stops into the route, so the car charges while its driver sleeps instead of queuing at a busy highway site.

What happens next

It is not yet clear how many new DC chargers will open before the summer holidays, or whether car makers will follow through on their charging promises. The holiday season will show whether the queues materialise.