Electric Heavy Vehicles to Tackle Durban–Joburg Freight Corridor Trial

Two production SANY electric trucks are completing a coastal run to Durban before a fully loaded return climb to Johannesburg, following a 1,400 km leg from Johannesburg to Cape Town. The Mzansi EV Truck Super Test 2026—a 4,000 km independent trial by flxEV, GoMetro, SANY, and the Kühne Climate Centre—is generating essential operational data on long-distance battery-electric freight viability along South Africa’s key N1, N2, and N3 corridors. Telematics from GoMetro and independent verification by the Smart Freight Centre ensure robust performance tracking under real-world payloads and temperatures.

While the vehicles themselves have proven reliable, initial findings reveal critical infrastructure gaps. Long-distance charging facilities remain heavily optimised for passenger cars, causing physical bay constraints and grid capacity bottlenecks. The test confirms that while heavy EV technology is market-ready, commercial deployment depends on rapid private-public investment in dedicated high-capacity corridor charging infrastructure.