A crew led by motoring journalists Justus Visagie and Ernest Page has set a new record for South African cross-country travel by a battery-electric car, in an iconic race against the clock between Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Data obtained by Altron subsidiary and fleet intelligence and tracking company Netstar, which has confirmed the record achieved during the attempt, has raised the bar for what is feasible with mobility technology.
The campaign, which aimed to achieve a new record time for driving an electric vehicle between South Africa’s two biggest cities, has Netstar as its tracking and timing partner.
The team left BMW Cape Town City on Herzog Boulevard at 7 o’clock on June 28, 2022, and they arrived at BMW Johannesburg City in Braamfontein 20H17m10s later, setting a new record for a battery-electric car.
The team drove a BMW iX battery-electric car for the entire seven-leg excursion, clocking a total driving duration of 14 hours, 56 minutes, and 21 seconds.
The car kept up an average speed of 94 km/h, and Netstar verified that it traveled 1 404 km.
At charging stations in Worcester, Laingsburg, Beaufort West, Richmond, Colesberg, and Bloemfontein, the team stopped to charge six times. The vehicle refilled its battery at the charging stations for a total of 5h33m19s.
According to Netstar Executive: Sales Nicky Sheridan, “This excursion has generated valuable information for long-distance, electric car travel in South Africa.”
Even on the “up ride” from the coast to 1 700m altitude in Johannesburg in the middle of winter, Justus, Ernest, and the team have demonstrated what modern electric vehicles are capable of.
We are quite delighted to be a part of this project, adds Sheridan, adding that Netstar tracking and data science were used to gain insights throughout the attempt. “Electric vehicles are a fantastic fit for Netstar trackers, and installation is simple.
Although we only had rudimentary capability for this journey, as electric vehicle technology is embraced, businesses will be able to benefit from ever-more-advanced monitoring technologies to optimize route planning and fleet management.
Sheridan predicts that South African auto consumers will begin to evaluate their options for electric vehicles when shopping for their next new vehicle as EV technology and the supporting road infrastructure advance.
The longest road trip that any South African is expected to take is from Cape Town to Johannesburg, according to Sheridan.
The data shows that, even with pauses, recharging, and driver changes, it is now feasible to make that voyage using battery-electric technology in under 20 hours.