South Africa's vehicle-emission standards have not been updated  since 2006, leading citizens to breathe pollution-filled air linked to life-threatening illness and even premature death.

Research by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) shows that road transport pollution in South Africa causes one premature death every 13 minutes and one new case of childhood asthma every 23 minutes – about 2 320 premature deaths and 660 new paediatric asthma cases each year.

There is a chance, however, to positively change this state of affairs in July 2027, when the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources’ Clean Fuels Two (CF2) regulations are expected to take effect. Yet, while this fuel standard opens the market for cleaner vehicle technology in South Africa, subsequent vehicle emission standards must be updated in parallel to ensure new vehicles align with more stringent emission levels, thereby bringing much needed air quality improvements.

“The Clean Fuels Two regulations set the stage for updates to South Africa’s vehicle emission standards, aligning with Euro-5 equivalent standards, but also allowing for the possibility of leapfrogging to Euro-6. Without these updated standards, South Africa risks the benefits of that regulatory update for public health outcomes” says Prian Reddy, Senior Researcher, Africa, of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

“We're ready to work with government, industry, and other stakeholders to provide the evidence-based research needed to support this transition,” Reddy adds.

He is one of the ICCT representatives who will attend and speak at Africa E-Mobility Week in Stellenbosch from 28–30 September. The event is the continent’s premier platform for accelerating zero-emission, inclusive transport solutions.

Today, new cars, bakkies, trucks and buses sold in South Africa are held to the Euro 2 vehicle emission standard, set in 2006. Comparable economies, including Mexico, Colombia, India and Brazil, have already moved to Euro 4, while Morocco – also a comparable economy – adopted Euro 6 in 2023.

Real-world testing in Johannesburg found that diesel trucks had the highest average nitrogen-oxide and particulate emissions among the vehicle groups measured. Trucks accounted for about 4% of measurements and buses for less than 1%, while the study also found that newer diesel trucks registered in 2024 emitted five to 11 times the Euro 6 emissions limits for nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. The tests were conducted by the Real Urban Emissions Initiative – the first large-scale roadside remote sensing study conducted in Africa: 253 654 measurements from more than 145 000 unique vehicles across 11 sites taken between July and September 2025. [1]

Leapfrogging to zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles can offer significant public health benefits. Through the Zero-emission Bus Rapid Deployment Accelerator (ZEBRA) partnership, the ICCT and C40 Cities are working with South African cities on electric-bus trials, minibus-taxi electrification and industrial policy. The ZEBRA partnership has already had great success in Latin America, where 10 000 electric buses have been deployed by cities and operators, made possible by national policy, city procurement commitments, financing and manufacturing capacity.

Africa’s numbers, tracked on ZEBRA’s e-bus radar, are a fraction of those numbers. Yet local manufacturers have shown electric bus bodies can be built with 90% local content, a point that matters because of the Public Procurement Act’s local-content rules for vehicles and the Just Transition imperative in South Africa.

Meanwhile, electric passenger vehicle sales are surging, driven by the global spike in oil prices and improving engineering, among other factors. Through August 2026, 2 622 battery electric vehicles were sold in South Africa, representing a 268% increase from this period last year.

“Every electric car, bus, and truck on the road means households and fleets are less exposed to the next fuel-price shock. As adoption accelerates, those savings can represent lower consumer price inflation. The Latin American e-bus experience shows emerging markets can make this shift at scale when policy, finance and industry move together,” says Oscar Delgado, Heavy-duty Vehicles Program Director at the ICCT.

ICCT analysis shows that if all new cars, trucks and buses sold in South Africa are electric by 2045, the country could prevent more than 22 000 premature deaths and 3 000 new childhood asthma cases by 2050.

ICCT representatives will attend Africa E-Mobility Week (28–30 September) and are available for interviews during and after the event.