0:00Engineers Mike Soper and Murray Bester at Sasec 2026, where they showcased the Thula Electric Safari Vehicle prototype, described as South Africa’s first purpose-built, all-electric game-drive 4×4.
Supplied/Desmond Thompson
- SA’s first purpose-built all-electric game drive vehicle, the Thula ESV, was unveiled at the Southern African Sustainable Energy Conference in the Kruger National Park.
- The vehicle is almost entirely locally made, runs on a 65kWh battery with a 200km range, and is engineered specifically for African safari conditions.
- Thula has moved beyond the prototype stage and is targeting production of around 50 vehicles a month.
A prototype that greeted delegates outside a conference venue in the Kruger National Park in June may hold a clue to one of South Africa’s biggest science and innovation questions – how do you take research to the marketplace?
According to its developers, the locally designed and manufactured Thula Electric Safari Vehicle (ESV) is South Africa’s first purpose-built, all-electric game-drive 4×4. It quickly became one of the main attractions at this year’s Southern African Sustainable Energy Conference (Sasec) in Skukuza, Mpumalanga.
Parked in the mild winter sunshine, it drew a steady stream of researchers, policymakers and industry leaders, who climbed aboard, inspected its battery compartments, and peppered its young engineers with questions between conference sessions.
The Thula ESV embodied the conference’s central message: South Africa should judge the success of its research not only by publications and patents, but also by the technologies it produces, the industries it helps build and the jobs it creates.
Balancing act
The Skukuza gathering took place against the backdrop of the global transition to cleaner energy systems. Yet speakers argued that the transition must also drive industrialisation, local manufacturing and inclusive economic growth.
READ |SA needs China to jumpstart EV battery manufacturing, industry says
Opening the conference, University of Pretoria (UP) mechanical engineering researcher Professor Willem le Roux reminded delegates that sustainable energy research ultimately exists to serve society.
“We have an opportunity to use our skills and knowledge to improve our communities,” he said. “We can help make this region safer, cleaner and more sustainable for future generations.”
In his keynote address, Dr Kenny Tenza, the acting deputy director-general of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), went further.
“The reality we must confront is unemployment,” he said, noting that almost one in three South Africans is unemployed and youth unemployment exceeds 60%.
He challenged researchers to become “uncomfortable” with those statistics and to rethink how scientific success should be measured.
Referring to figures presented by the National Intellectual Property Management Office, he noted that publicly funded research generates more than 250 intellectual property disclosures annually, yet relatively few patents ultimately reach the market.
The prototype Thula Electric Safari Vehicle on display at Sasec 2026. The locally designed and manufactured all-electric vehicle became one of the conference’s main attractions.
Supplied/Fhatuwani Malaudzi
Sasec 2026 delegates experience the prototype Thula Electric Safari Vehicle during a demonstration in Skukuza. The locally designed and manufactured all-electric vehicle was one of the conference’s main attractions.
Supplied/Fhatuwani Malaudzi
Tenza’s message was unequivocal: “We are not here merely to admire innovation. We are here to industrialise it.
“We must ensure that innovations such as the Thula move beyond demonstrations to become visible on our roads, in our communities and throughout our economy as proudly South African innovations that create real industrial value.”
Local is lekker
Founded in 2017 by entrepreneur and bush enthusiast Gary Davies, Thula Solutions initially converted conventional high-end 4×4 bakkies into safari vehicles before deciding that the structural compromises were simply too great.
In 2023, the company began with a clean slate, developing an entirely new electric platform engineered specifically for African safari conditions.
Working with the UP’s Vehicle Dynamics Group, Thula developed a new chassis before partnering with Hi-Tech Automotive in Gqeberha, which has been manufacturing low-volume, high-quality vehicles for international markets for three decades.
The vehicle displayed at Sasec was the first to roll off its research and development production line. Thula aims eventually to produce around 50 vehicles a month through a dedicated factory.
Local manufacturing sits at the heart of the project. Apart from imported electric motors and a few minor components, the vehicle is South African.
Battery packs are supplied by Cape Town-based Balancell, whose collaboration with the Electric Mobility Lab at Stellenbosch University (SU) has produced award-winning electric mobility projects, including the conversion of a commuter bus to electric power.
Thula recently secured funding from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which drivetrain engineer Murray Bester said would help it scale production.
Silence is golden
Thula – a Nguni word meaning “be quiet” or “be still” – is an apt name for a vehicle conceived around the idea of allowing visitors to hear the sounds of the African bush without the intrusion of a loud internal combustion engine.
“Our founder loves the bush, but realised that you couldn’t properly hear it from inside a big diesel safari vehicle,” explained Bester, a 26-year-old SU graduate whose first job after completing a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics, Robotics and Automation Engineering has helped develop the Thula.
READ |SA scientists help build ‘weather forecast’ to prevent wildlife heatwave deaths
Without engine noise or diesel fumes, guides can continue talking to guests while the vehicle is moving. Visitors can hear birds’ alarm calls, the rustle of grass and distant wildlife without asking drivers to switch off the engine at every sighting.
There are also commercial benefits. Luxury safari lodges increasingly compete on environmental credentials as well as guest experience.
Two electric drive units provide all-wheel drive, while a 65kWh battery delivers a range of about 200km – enough for roughly three days of typical safari lodge operations before recharging, ideally from solar power.
Engineered for the bush
Bester says the Thula’s engineering also reflects the realities of operating in remote game reserves.
“From a mechanical aspect, the vehicle is as simple as possible,” he said. “Most lodges have their own maintenance departments servicing existing vehicles. Those mechanics should be able to do virtually all the routine mechanical maintenance.”
Only work on the high-voltage electrical systems requires specialist support from Thula’s own technicians.
Lab to market
Thula’s route towards production reflects wider developments around sustainable energy and electric mobility in South Africa.
It demonstrates how South African universities, entrepreneurs, manufacturers and government support programmes can combine to move an idea from research and development into production.
Professor Cristina Trois, director of the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies at SU and co-chair of Sasec 2026, has watched that innovation ecosystem mature over almost three decades.
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The sector’s growth has been underpinned by long-term public investment, particularly through the Renewable Energy Hub and Spokes Programme of the DSTI and the South African National Energy Development Institute.
The initiative brings together five universities – SU, UP, North-West, Fort Hare and Cape Town – each specialising in different aspects of renewable energy while collaborating across a national research network.
Next generation
For Trois, however, the ultimate measure of success extends beyond research outputs.
Sometimes the greatest impact of a project isn’t the technology itself. It’s the students who were trained while developing it.
The Thula team illustrates this point. Bester works alongside software and electronics specialist Mike Soper, a UP electrical engineering graduate. Together, they represent a new generation of engineers applying their university skills in advanced engineering and commercial product development.
The scaling test
Against that backdrop, the quiet green vehicle shown in Skukuza represents more than an eye-catching prototype. With a prototype built, a specialist manufacturing partner in place and IDC funding secured, Thula has moved beyond the concept stage.
The test now is whether it can scale production and capture a market – the same challenge confronting much of South Africa’s research and innovation system.
Desmond Thompson is a freelance journalist. The conference organisers covered his travel and accommodation costs.
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