South Africa’s first true electric car — which once belonged to Eskom – MyBroadband

The history of electric vehicles (EVs) in South Africa dates back at least 50 years, when the first self-powered EV landed on local shores.

EVs have seen rapid uptake in recent years, but the idea of powering automobiles with electricity is nothing new — it dates back nearly two centuries.

Robert Anderson has often been credited with inventing the first EV sometime between 1832 and 1839.

However, the world’s first publicly presented EVs debuted between 1881 and 1890, starting with Gustave Trouvé’s Siemens-powered model at the Exposition International d’Electricité de Paris.

Some consider the Flocken Electrowagen, unveiled by Andreas Flocken in 1888, as the first truly functional electric car.

It was powered by a 0.9kW motor that supported a speed of up to 15km/h and came with a rechargeable lead-acid battery providing a now-unknown amount of range.

EVs lost out to the internal combustion engine as battery technology was still in its infancy, making them highly impractical for regular daily use and long-distance travelling.

Even with the arrival of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in 1976, boasting much higher energy density and efficiency, it would take more than 30 years for the EV to start making a comeback.

The first mass-produced EV — the Nissan Leaf — debuted in 2010 but only launched in South Africa in 2013.

It was followed by another significant model — the BMW i3 — a year later.

Over time, substantial improvements in battery technologies enabling better range and faster charging speeds, gradually lowering prices, and the rapid expansion of public charging stations added further EV momentum.

While the EV transition is in full swing in many developed countries, these cars are still a rarity on South African roads.

That is despite the first EV being brought to South Africa almost exactly half a century ago.

That model was the Enfield 8000, a two-seater fully-electric car developed in the United Kingdom after Enfield Automotive won a competition run by the UK Electricity Council in 1966.

The small EV was designed by British and Greek engineers led by Constantine Adraktas and John Ackroyd and launched in 1973.

The original prototype development and production of the Enfield 8000 happened in Somerton Works in Northwood before being moved to the Greek island of Syros.

A total of 120 Enfield 8000s were made, around half of which were used by the Electricity Council and electricity boards in southern England.

The Enfield 8000 featured a 6kW motor and received its juice from eight 6-volt lead-acid batteries, providing roughly 64km of range.

These could be charged via a charging socket at the back of the car.

Its top speed was limited to 77km/h, although its 12.5 seconds to accelerate from zero to 50km/h was considered impressive at the time.

It was also praised for its drag coefficient being better than a Porsche of the same era.

The overall design of the Enfield 8000 was fairly simple. It consisted of a ladder-type square section tube chassis frame and suspension parts, doors, and rear axle based on or taken from other well-known cars at the time.

The car failed due to its low range and £2,500 price tag, enough to buy two Minis at that time — each boasting more than double the range.

In 1976, Enfield ceased production of the EV.

However, two years earlier, wire ropes supplier Haggie Rand imported an Enfield 8000 to South Africa, which it used to promote a chloride battery project.

The car was bought by a Mr B Pollock in 1992 to promote the environmental impact of EVs. Two years later, Eskom acquired it for an EV project, the fate of which is unknown.

Eskom added some of its own regalia to the car before it was eventually donated to the James Hall Museum of Transport in Johannesburg.

The car stands there to this day, in the company of shell prototype of the Optimal Energy Joule, South Africa’s first proper locally-made EV.

At least several models still in use in the last decade

Several Enfield 8000s were still used decades after the car was launched.

In 1998, the BBC’s Top Gear featured an Enfield 8000 owned by Alan and Honor Ward, who were very happy with their purchase.

The couple said they covered roughly 5,000 miles (8,047km) a year in the car, with a single charge supporting a realistic range of 25 miles (40km).

“As long as you treat it as a bit of a joke, which we do, it’s ideal. We’re amused by it, we laugh at it. It’s got personality,” the couple joked.

At least one of five models imported to Australia was running by 2014, owned by one Randal Love, who bought it for AU$3,000 in 1993, which worked out to about R6,900 at the time.

This model had racked up 160,000km and was used by Love on his daily commute between home and work. He expressed similar satisfaction with the car as the Ward’s.

A heavily-modified version of the Enfield 8000 built by Jonny Smith and nicknamed the “Flux Capacitor” once held the record for the world’s quickest street-legal electric car, beating the Tesla Model S P85D.

With twin series-mounted 9-inch DC racing motors and 188 lithium-ion pouch cells, it could accelerate from a standstill to 100km/h in less than three seconds.

Smith said the instant electric torque delivery was something he had never experienced in over 15 years of driving and testing sports cars.