The South African division of Estonian ride-hailing giant Bolt has officially announced the launch of an electric vehicle (EV) category for the local market. The rollout follows a strategic partnership with ride-sharing platform YugoRide, which aims to deploy a fleet of 500 EVs in Cape Town by December 2025, with a broader expansion to Johannesburg planned shortly thereafter.
Read: Bandwidth Blog & Smile 90.4FM Tech Tuesday: AI trends shifting!
This rollout marks Bolt’s first official foray into electric mobility within South Africa, adding to its existing EV initiatives in over 70 cities globally, including regional hubs in Nigeria and Kenya. The 500-vehicle target places Bolt on an aggressive competitive trajectory. By comparison, its primary rival, Uber, launched its “Uber Go Electric” category locally in November 2025 with an initial fleet of 70 vehicles, which grew to 280 units by January 2026.
According to Caroline Wanjihia, Regional Director for Rides Africa & International Markets at Bolt, South Africa remains one of the company’s most vital global territories. Wanjihia emphasized that electric mobility presents significant advantages, offering sustainability alongside economic benefits by lowering operational costs for drivers to help create more predictable, sustainable earnings.
To support the launch, YugoRide is building out the necessary EV infrastructure and operational framework from the ground up. William Huang, co-founder of YugoRide, noted that a successful transition required a structured fleet model focused on driver support, operational quality, and vehicle safety. Reportedly, YugoRide is managing the procurement deal with Chinese automotive manufacturer Dongfeng, which is supplying the vehicles. Passengers will initially have access to Dongfeng’s Box hatchback model, with the more premium 007 sedan expected to join the platform later.
See also
The EV category is now officially live for users of the Bolt app in Cape Town. Representatives indicated that vehicle availability will scale incrementally in phases as more cars are operationally onboarded. The initiative has received strong backing from local government, with Cape Town’s MMC for Urban Mobility, Roberto Quintas, noting that Bolt’s emission-free fleet aligns directly with the city’s broader strategic goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
While preparations are already underway to bring the EV category to Johannesburg, an official launch date will only be finalized once regional fleet and infrastructure requirements are met. In the interim, Bolt has opened its driver onboarding channels, encouraging interested operators and fleet owners to register through its standard application portals as the platform prepares to scale its green footprint.
