“Thought It Was Free”: SA Woman Shares Frustration Over Electric Vehicle Charging Costs
- A South African woman shared a candid TikTok video after her first visit to a public EV charging station left her completely caught off guard
- She had assumed charging her BYD electric car would be free and arrived without knowing what she needed to even start the process
- South Africans in the comments flooded the video with questions about costs and whether home charging was a better option
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Source: TikTok
A South African woman's first solo trip to a public electric vehicle charging station did not go quite as planned. The TikTok creator @aliciah.august posted a selfie-style video on 10 November 2026 from inside her parked car at a public charging station, captioned
"Just when I thought I dodged [the] petrol bullet."
In the clip, she admits she arrived at the station fully expecting the charge to be free. What followed was a mix of confusion and mild embarrassment as other drivers passed by and stopped to ask questions she could not yet answer herself.
BYD owner learns charging comes with a learning curve
She had not yet set up the necessary equipment and quickly discovered she needed a tap card to activate the charger. With no idea how to begin, a stranger stepped in and explained that she also needed to download an app before she could start charging at all. By the time she got everything sorted, she was looking at a wait of roughly five hours, long enough that she planned to leave the car, return to work, and collect it later.
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Her post struck a chord with viewers who are navigating the same uncharted territory as EV ownership grows in South Africa. According to BYD's website, public charging stations typically use Level 2 or DC fast chargers. DC fast chargers can top up a vehicle in as little as 30 minutes, while Level 2 stations can take under an hour for most models. Home charging, by contrast, can take anywhere from six to twelve hours depending on the setup.
View the TikTok video below:
Mzansi weighs in on electric car costs
South Africans had plenty to say in the comments on the page:
@snenhlanhla_ndlovu8 asked:
"Full tank of electricity how much"
@user405060 pointed out:
"Volvo gives you 3 years of free charging"
@Phiwe 💕 wrote:
"Maybe I'm slow. I'm still waiting for the part where she explains how much it is to charge"
@aliciahaugust🌸 replied:
"R300 = 300KMs that means it is 100% charged. Hope you understand ❤️🤗"
@NdumisoMthabela asked:
"Can't you charge at home?"
@TinaM shared:
"It's a scam, I have a Hybrid, but I am still buying thousands of rands of petrol, no idea where the electricity is"
@Teres said:
"Chomie if you charge it at home you still have to pay"
@Pako Pitso advised:
"5hrs? Charge enough to do your daily runs then charge it overnight at home. Is it the BYD surf?"
More Briefly News stories on electric cars
- Five affordable electric cars under R500,000 in South Africa feature Chinese brands, practical ranges and technology amid rising petrol prices for motorists.
- Grade 11 and 12 learners in Mamelodi built Ngom-Ngom, an electric vehicle showcasing youth innovation and cleaner energy, sparking debate across South Africa.
- Chery Group's Jaecoo brand launches pre-orders for the J5 BEV, an electric SUV priced from R549,000, offering a 402km range and enticing pre-order extras.
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Source: Briefly News
