For the sales of EVs to become commercially viable in SA we need a few reforms at government level. Picture: SUPPLIED
Many naysayers cite SA’s electricity issues as a primary challenge, and then follow with arguments regarding the availability of public chargers, range anxiety, charging trauma and the relatively high cost of EVs in general. Allow me to address these and express some opinions of my own. The mainstream adoption of EVs in Europe, or Norway in particular, has largely been driven by a reduction in taxation. In 2022, Norway reached a new record with EVs totalling over 80% of all new cars sold. It can be noted that the country committed to having all new cars sold be zero emission by 2025. But the quick turnaround, from 2.9% of all cars sold a decade ago, was driven by government incentives such as lower fares for public parking and road tolls, and appetising tax exemptions.
The significant change in demand based on duty adjustments in Norway and Mauritius can obviously be applied to SA. Since the local market, via the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA , is only calling for a 7% reduction in taxation, it might not be on the same scale as overseas, but it will certainly have a positive impact. Manufacturers could not only reduce current retail EV prices, but also be more compelled to bring new EVs to the local market.
As for infrastructure, there are now more than 300 public chargers in SA, thanks to investment from JLR, BMW, Audi and a number of private network developers such as GridCars and Rubicon. There is still a misconception, however, that public charging is a requirement for electric mobility when the reality is charging at home is cheaper and far more convenient.
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