Electric Vehicle Technology Summit June 2019
Vishal Premlall (SAPRA Director) recently attended the 2019 Electric Vehicle (EV) Technologies Summit in Gauteng.
The session proved somewhat controversial with tug-of-war style presentations making claims that industry is or is not heading in a new direction. If EV and hybrid vehicles are the new world of transportation heading for South Africa or Africa, then when does the impact become significant enough to warrant change in policy, business models etc.?
Attached are some detailed presentations made at the Summit for your interest.
Why is this important for you as a retailer?
Retail sites may need to transition if EV or alternate fuel vehicle adoption in South Africa becomes a reality in the short to medium term. As to how long before penetration becomes significant, there are mixed views.
Speakers that presented over the two days:
- 2 Life Neighbourhood EV
- Manufacturers
- Green Cape
- ESKOM
- Deloitte Africa
- CNG Holdings (Gas)
- National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM)
- South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA)
- GRID Cars
- uYilo e-Mobility Programme
- Demand side and EV Management CSIR
Take outs worth noting
- 5.3 million EV plug-ins worldwide
- Europe has over 114000 charging stations
- 487 EV companies in China
- EV trucks are already in production
- Mauritius joined the EV trend by embracing legislation changes for EV absorption
- New electric motors will have no copper wire and have significantly less components than Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) - (20’000 to 20 components!)
- EVs are still very expensive in SA – imported and attract ad valorem taxes (battery 1/3 cost of car)
- Does SA Gvt. have an appetite for EV adoption, policy and regulation change
- Existing African car parc and consumer culture shift
- Cost of EV ownership vs cost of operating EV
- Is SA ready to build EVs and remain globally competitive
- New entrants in the market – growing all the time
- 1200 Taxis in SA are running on Natural gas
- VW Move app introduced in Kigali Rwanda – car sharing concept
- Over 50% of SA produced cars are exported
- EV plug points exist between Gauteng and Western Cape and are being rolled out further in SA
- EV concepts date back to the early 1800s
As EV and hybrid models continue to evolve, it may be prudent for Retailers to take steps to remain relevant players in this sector.