The CEO of Thula Solutions, Gary Davies, explains that it took him five years to achieve the goal of manufacturing electrical cars. He said that he started by converting old cars into electrical cars and understanding that.

Thula Solutions then partnered with a Free State company from Estoire, Bloemfontein, lead by Stian Brandt and called Brandt BRV, a local motor vehicle manufacturer since 2013, because of their wealth of building experience for the off-road market.

“Brandt BRV has been making petrol and diesel-based bakkies in Bloem for years now. Towards the end of last year, Thula Solutions brought the electrical side of things and partnered with Brandt BRV, so the two companies are joined now. We're bringing the Safari element and the electric drivetrain, and they're bringing their wealth of building [experience], particularly with regard to the suspension. Their design and build of the vehicle are absolutely perfect for the off-road and really bouncy markets. It's also very stable. This is the first-ever all-electric 4x4 [Safari] vehicle in the world,” says Davies. He alludes that apart from General Motors' electric vehicles by Rivian, Thula Solutions are probably the second auto-manufacturer in the world producing electric 4x4 vehicles.

According to Davies, the electric 4×4 Safari vehicle can be charged using electricity or solar power, with energy that can last for about 200km, specifically as the normal game drive is only about 30km. He says it takes about four hours to fully charge the battery packs, while it can take up to 24 hours to charge normal electric applies.

"One of the benefits of an electric vehicle is that it is quiet, particularly on Safari you want a vehicle that will be quiet so that you can get closer to the animals and don't scare them away in order to enjoy the African bush," he adds.

Davies says there is an unbelievable demand for this vehicle and that it will already take a year to satisfy this demand.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi and Mpho Mohapi