When we first heard about this we actually thought it was good old South African humour but Business Insider has now confirmed that Eskom is, in fact, wanting to buy electric vehicles for their fleet.
An Eskom spokesperson confirmed to the publication that the utility is currently in the process of procuring six electric vehicles, and has put out a tender for 15 charging stations.
They intend to monitor the electric vehicles over a fixed period to determine their performance, commercial viability and applicability in a fleet (surely you need electricity as a start).
“The data will ultimately be used to demonstrate the benefits to other fleet vehicle owners and enable Eskom to make an informed decision regarding electric fleet vehicles going forward,” Eskom said.
The charging stations will also be used by employees who own electric vehicles.
Which vehicles will they buy? Currently, the only options in South Africa include the BMW i3, Nissan Leaf, Jaguar I-Pace and soon to arrive Mercedes EQC and Audi e-tron.