Meet the Dutch duo driving to South Africa and back in an electric car

Range anxiety? What range anxiety?

Maarten van Pel and Renske Cox are on a mission. A bold and brave mission that most people, heck, most automakers wouldn’t even attempt. According to them, over 250 companies had rejected their idea, but they persisted. The pair are attempting to drive from The Netherlands to Cape Town and back… in an electric car.

The dream to circumnavigate Africa in a pure EV was born in the latter part of 2021. But it took the road trippers some time to convince any companies to buy in to their vision. Speaking of which, the aim of their excursion is to show that it is possible to drive long distances in an EV, even in places without any infrastructure. Along the way they are highlighting sustainable energy initiatives in the various places they visit.

But how does one drive an EV from Holland to South Africa and back? As you can imagine, it’s not easy. The pair are driving a Skoda Enyaq, an SUV that is powered purely by batteries and is all-wheel-drive.

“We chose the Skoda Enyaq because it’s a regular family car, which makes our expedition more approachable for others. Plus it’s efficient and big enough to store everything we need,” Renske explains.

Charging, to date, has been done using mostly solar power. The Skoda is loaded with 60 solar panels weighing roughly 200kg. The pair throws out their own, 60m², solar array whenever their steed needs to be charged. Depending on conditions overhead, that can take a while.

There’s no back-up vehicle or crew close by at all times. The Skoda is laden with gear as the trip is completely self-sufficient. They have a 50-litre water tank for daily activities, a stove, fridge, rescue equipment and food aboard the SUV. Oh, and they sleep in a roof-top tent.

The couple set off from Holland in November of 2022. Thus far they have covered more than 20,000 km, of the planned 40,000 km, which has taken them approximately 500 hours of driving time to complete. 

It hasn’t been plain sailing. Cox explains “The most challenging part of our fully electric expedition so far was crossing the border from Nigeria to Cameroon. The only open border included a 150km mountain track. Our car was not designed for this, we almost gave up. We made it by driving at just 6km/h for three days, one of us in front of the car to guide around stones and more… Now that we did it, it was a real adventure, but in the moment it was a bit intense.”

At the time of writing the couple had just arrived in Cape Town, the mid point of their adventure. They are aiming to visit over 30 countries in Africa by the time the drive is complete. Their eventual destination being right back where they started in the Netherlands. Right now the tally is nineteen different states. The entire trip will take about 18 months. 

“We’ll drive back home along the east coast of Africa. Flying back of course isn’t a sustainable solution and we can’t wait to experience the east of the continent, too,” concludes Cox.

You can follow their adventures on their website 4x4electric or on their Facebook page.

Words Sudhir “Banzai” Matai Twitter | Instagram

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