Team behind the biggest EV charging hub in South Africa most people can’t use launches public chargers
Smart EV, the company behind Africa’s largest fleet charging station, has launched its first public electric vehicle (EV) charging unit near the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
Smart EV CEO Mike Pritchard says the company’s doors are open to anyone who owns or plans to own an EV.
“Smart EV’s aim is to make sure that every electric vehicle in South Africa has access to quality charging in all major hubs across the country, whether it’s grid-based, solar, or a fusion of the two,” says Pritchard.
“We started with the biggest and best fleet charging station in Africa, but Smart EV now also brings EV charging to the everyday user.”
According to Smart EV, the fleet charging hub in Cape Town was completed in just four months and is already bringing Golden Arrow a 63% energy saving.
He adds that the company offers products and services ideal for fleet owners, public transport suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, retail developers, complex managers, and more.
“Anyone who is invested in a greener and more efficient South Africa,” says Pritchard.
Smart EV currently operates a high-capacity, megawatt-scale charging hub that supports the electrification of Golden Arrow’s bus fleet.
Golden Arrow Bus service engineer, Gideon Neethling, says the company has a great relationship with the STS Tech Group, which owns Smart EV.
“We see this relationship going forward and building on our past performance,” says Neethling.
“In South Africa, we are the only bus company that operates electric vehicles on a large scale, and we believe the other guys will follow.”
Chinese carmaker BYD announced that it struck a deal with Golden Arrow, which would provide the company with 120 electric buses by the end of 2025. The first batch of around 20 arrived earlier in 2025.
The 12.5-meter-long buses have 65 seats, lithium iron phosphate batteries, and BYD’s six-in-one controller for enhanced efficiency.
The controller comprises two electric motor control units, one steering control unit, an air control compressor, a DC-DC controller, and one power distribution unit.
Slashing public transport costs in South Africa
According to GreenCape’s South African Electric Vehicle Market Intelligence report for 2025, bus fleet managers could save R2 million per vehicle over 10 years by switching to electric.
This assumes each vehicle travels more than 60,000km annually. GreenCape’s report compared business cases for electric buses and minibuses.
“There is a strong business case for bus fleet managers to consider switching to an electric alternative if they have buses with an average annual mileage of 60,000 km or more,” it said.
“This is due to the high operational fuel cost savings achieved from switching from a diesel bus to an electric bus in the public transport sector.”
Purchasing electric alternatives for road-based public transport vehicles can cost almost twice as much as buying their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts.
However, their operating costs reflect the inverse. According to GreenCape, the capital required to purchase an ICE bus is around R2.7 million, while an ICE minibus costs around R680,900.
The capital expenditure required for an electric bus can be between R5.4 million and R8.1 million, while an electric minibus costs around R1.5 million.
However, fleet managers stand to save millions on fuel and maintenance over the long term by switching to electric alternatives.
GreenCape found that the operating expenditure for an ICE bus travelling 60,000km per year on average will cost R966.40 per 100km over 10 years, assuming the bus uses 0.4 litres of fuel per kilometre at a fuel price of R24.16 per litre.
Meanwhile, the 10-year operational expenditure of an electric bus travelling the same distance annually will average R227.70 per 100km.
This is based on the assumption that the bus uses 0.99kWh of energy per kilometre at a cost of R2.30 per kWh.
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