EV charging
Commercial EV fleet charging in South Africa — where do I start?
Fleet charging is an electrical capacity and management project first — not just buying wallboxes. Start with how many vehicles return daytime vs overnight, whether the site is single- or three-phase, and whether solar/BESS will offset demand. Most depots need managed AC charging; add DC fast only for vehicles that must turn around quickly.
Building blocks
- Supply upgrade / balance across phases.
- Load management so chargers share available amps.
- Workplace AC (≈7–22 kW) for dwell-time charging.
- Optional site BESS or PV to cut peaks — see commercial BESS.
- Public/high-uptime DC for road hours — SA networks include battery-backed sites such as SAEV, which plans ~400 stations in four years and pairs DC-to-DC chargers with a 272 kWh Solar MD battery (DriveElectric, Oct 2026). Trade distributor SONAH Group now carries SAEV nationally and says the system delivers 120 kW+ from as little as 10 kW of grid supply — a company claim to confirm on a site survey against your fleet’s daily kWh (details).
Home vs fleet: the people’s favourite (SAEV runs a Richmond site at the Solar MD factory; ~R3.49/kWh public DC vs GridCars ~R7.35 — DriveElectric) home charger remains SAEV Charge; fleets need engineered multi-point design and a competent electrical contractor.
Related answers
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