Solar Charging Slashes EV Costs in South Africa

A test drive of an electric SUV found home solar charging cost R85 for 400 kilometres, far below a petrol vehicle's R550.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Electric Vehicles

Solar Charging Slashes EV Costs in South Africa

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Would you consider buying an electric vehicle for your next car purchase?

Patrick Narbel charged his electric SUV for 400 kilometres using home solar and household electricity costing R85 ($5.19). The same distance in an efficient petrol vehicle would have cost R550 ($33.56).

Why it matters

The test highlights how home solar can cut the running costs of electric vehicles for South African drivers. Charging entirely from the grid cost R280 ($17.09), showing solar's role in the savings.

The SUV, with a 68 kWh battery, averaged 13.3 kWh per 100 kilometres over 7,000 kilometres driven. Public charging costs R5 to R8.50 per kWh, and imports of EVs face a 25% duty versus 18% for petrol cars.

The players

Patrick Narbel

An electric vehicle owner who conducted the solar charging test and said he switched to an electric vehicle because he cares about clean energy.

GoSolr

A South African solar energy company that published the findings in its quarterly Light Paper.

The details

Narbel used a home setup with a 12-kilowatt hybrid inverter, 15 kilowatt-hours of battery storage and just over 8 kilowatts of solar panels, drawing on household battery power in the evening and charging mainly on weekends. On a Karoo trip he changed his route so he needed to charge only once.

Findings were published in GoSolr's quarterly Light Paper.

Roadmap

South Africa had about 650 public charging points at 445 locations, with about 78% concentrated in the Western Cape and Gauteng. Public charging costs R5 to R8.50 per kWh, so home solar charging offers a cost route outside that network.

For a driver covering 400 kilometres, home solar charging at R85 versus R550 for a petrol car is a large difference in monthly running costs. Drivers without solar still face public charging at R5 to R8.50 per kWh.

The takeaway

Home solar can make an electric vehicle markedly cheaper to run than a petrol car in South Africa. Drivers should weigh their solar capacity and seasonal charging patterns before switching.