A Land Rover powered by solar - just another day in a Stellenbosch workshop

Nova Machina means "new machine" and is an apt name for a Stellenbosch-based company that converts vehicles that are powered with petrol and diesel to electric vehicles.

Nova Machina has recently converted a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

"I am going to take the Mercedes[-Benz] Sprinter that we converted out now for a bit of a test drive. It took us quite some time, and proof of concepts do take time because there's a lot of research and development that must happen while you convert," co-founder and chief executive Karen von Wielligh told News24.