Electric truck market in South Africa needs government action to grow
By Adrian Ephraim
SOUTH Africa’s commercial vehicle sector has a policy challenge. The technology for electric trucking is proven, the early operational data is compelling, and a growing number of fleet operators have already committed. But the regulatory environment is lagging so far behind industry readiness that it risks strangling momentum before the market reaches scale, and with it, one of the most accessible levers available to reduce the transport sector’s contribution to South Africa’s carbon footprint.
Naamsa, the Automotive Business Council, has been direct in its assessment. The industry body is actively engaging a working group within the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC) on two specific reforms: temporary import duty relief on electric trucks and a payload and length concession for electric truck-trailer combinations that mirrors what European regulators already permit. For Naamsa, these are not aspirational policy positions. They are the minimum conditions required to make the business case viable for mainstream fleet operators.
The payload question is particularly significant. Because electric trucks carry heavy battery packs, each vehicle’s net payload capacity is reduced compared to a diesel equivalent of the same gross vehicle mass. European regulators have addressed this directly, granting electric truck-trailer combinations an additional two-ton payload allowance. European operators are also permitted to run longer truck-trailer combinations, accommodating the extended wheelbase that comes with electric drivetrains.
Naamsa is asking the DTIC for equivalent concessions. Fleet operators already have existing trailers in their yards, and permitting electric combinations to run between 50 cm and 110 cm longer than current regulations allow would mean those operators could use their existing equipment rather than commissioning purpose-built shorter trailers, which currently cost between R2-million and R3-million per unit.
The duty structure compounds the challenge. Electric trucks sourced from the EU attract a 12% import tariff; those from all other origins face 20%, the same rates applied to conventional diesel vehicles. The problem is the base price. Electric trucks cost significantly more than their diesel equivalents, which means the rand value of the duty is substantially larger. Without a fleet-side purchase incentive to offset this, the total cost of ownership gap between electric and diesel remains a difficult conversation for any operator managing tight margins and a sustainability mandate simultaneously.
Eric Parry, Senior Manager of Sustainability at Volvo Trucks South Africa, sits on the Naamsa HCV NEV sub-committee driving that engagement. He recently participated in the National Transport Conference hosted by the Department of Transport, which focused on accelerating the decarbonisation of road transport toward the country’s net-zero target by 2050.
“I am encouraged by the quality of the discussions at the conference and am optimistic that it will help move us towards practical steps in the decarbonisation of road transport in South Africa,” Parry told CBN.
Parry estimates break-even on an electric truck investment should be achievable within five to six years, depending on diesel prices, electricity costs, annual mileage and finance terms. That timeline is commercially realistic, but it remains a barrier for operators who must commit capital today against uncertain policy conditions. Government has shown it is capable of acting: the 150% tax deduction on qualifying EV production investments, which came into effect in March 2026, is a meaningful intervention on the manufacturing side. But the demand lever, a fleet-side purchase incentive, remains absent from the policy toolkit.
CBN asked the Department of Transport directly about the status of the import duty relief and payload concession proposals. The Department had not responded by the time of publishing.
The evidence base that should be informing that review is already substantial. As of October 2025, Volvo’s electric trucks had covered 250 million kilometres in real-world customer operations globally. In South Africa, Vector Logistics operates two all-electric Volvo FH 6×4 tractors across Gauteng and Cape Town. DSV has added nine Volvo electric units to its local fleet, supported by solar generation and battery storage at its Gauteng depot. In August 2025, South Africa’s first all-electric Superlink entered service as part of a DHL and Unilever pilot.
“When they are matched to the right operations, they fit right in with the fleets that are already there,” Parry says. “They are easier to fix, need less maintenance, and have shown that they work well over time.”
Demand is also emerging beyond the major logistics players. The UCL Company in KwaZulu-Natal, which generates its own power from waste at its sugar mill, has purchased two electric 6×4 tractors for agricultural transport. For an operator with its own renewable energy source, the sustainability and financial cases converge immediately.
The commercial logic is in place. The technology is proven. What is missing is the regulatory coherence to match the ambition. Import duty relief and an electric-specific payload concession are targeted, time-bound adjustments that other jurisdictions have already implemented. The Department of Transport does not need to start from scratch. It needs to act on the groundwork that Naamsa and the industry have already laid.
