• In recent years a number of carmakers have outlined plans to electrify their fleets in the coming decade.
• While this is great for the motoring industry, countries like South Africa are yet to make buying an EV worthwhile given higher prices, an ailing power grid and a lack of charging infrastructure.
• With the Australian government recently dropping import duties to incentivise people buying EVs, AutoTrader CEO George Mienie, wants SA to do the same.

Whenever we cover the unveiling or launch of a new electric vehicle (EV), it is always a little bittersweet, as we never truly know if said car will be heading to South Africa. This shows no signs of changing given the country’s ailing power utility, a lack of charging infrastructure and the premium pricing that EVs generally carry.

To promote the purchase of EVs in South Africa, AutoTrader CEO George Mienie, believes the South African government should take a play out of the Australian book, as its government recently decided to drop import duties on newly purchased EVs entering the country.

“The implications are considerable,” notes Mienie in a press release sent to Hypertext.

“Practically, this will see the price of some EVs being reduced by up to $9,000 (roughly R103,074) for businesses or $4,700 (about R53,827) for individuals,” he added.

On top of this, he points to the fact that the Australian government has further plans in the works when it comes to EVs, with it investing to convert its own fleet of vehicles to electric ones in the coming years. “This will impact the second-hand market – the increased availability of used EVs could bring down prices for consumers substantially,” Mienie continued.

Having owned an EV for the past year, the AutoTrader CEO says that the positive sentiment towards owning an electric vehicle in South Africa has grown of late, with the car purchasing platform also doing some research to that end.

“We have done a considerable amount of research into EV ownership, perceptions and expectations in South Africa. We know that consumer demand for EVs is growing exponentially,” he explains.

Citing the third edition of its EV Buyers Survey, Mienie says that searches for EVs have grown by 102 percent year-on-year, serving as one example where interest in the segment has grown locally. That said, the cost of an EV still remains a deterrent for many.

“Our survey established that the initial cost of purchase is the single biggest disadvantage when it comes to EV acquisition (65% of our respondents indicated this). Therefore, it’s crystal clear that EVs are simply too expensive in South Africa,” according to Mienie.

As such, dropping import duties would go a long way in making the prospect of buying an EV in SA more appealing.

“South Africans pay 25% import taxes on EVs and 18% import taxes on internal combustion-engined vehicles. Hence, we’re in an odd situation whereby we actually pay disproportionately more for our EVs than the rest of the world by comparison, only because they have an incentive structure which we don’t. The countries that have tax incentives in place have become very stimulated EV markets (with one of the best examples being Norway),” he highlights.

“Countries such as Norway and Australia have shown us what we need to do. It’s clearly time for South Africa to follow their example. EVs are the future! Our country needs to be part of that future,” the AutoTrader CEO concludes.

Whether our government will heed the advice remains to be seen, but seeing as how the issues of an ailing power grid and lack of charging stations in the country persist, we are not optimistic at this stage.

[Image – Photo by the blowup on Unsplash]