ELECTRIC VEHICLES: MIR 2022

The report examines South Africa's transition from an internal combustion engine (ICE) automotive hub to an electric mobility market. It identifies key investment opportunities in public transport electrification, lithium-ion battery (LIB) production, passenger vehicle manufacturing, and industrial EV use in mining and construction. While South Africa has a strong existing automotive manufacturing base and significant mineral reserves for batteries, the EV market is hindered by high import duties, a lack of targeted subsidies, and a skills gap. The report emphasizes the risk of losing export markets as the UK and EU phase out ICE vehicles, while highlighting the Western Cape as an emerging greentech hub.

• South Africa's automotive sector is a major economic contributor, representing 4.9% of GDP in 2020 and 27.6% of manufacturing output, with total revenue exceeding R500 billion in 2019.
• The electrification of public transport, particularly buses, is identified as the most viable business case for local manufacturing due to existing domestic production and a ~80% local content requirement for public procurement.
• South Africa possesses significant raw material advantages for lithium-ion battery (LIB) production, notably holding approximately 78% of the world's manganese reserves.
• High import duties act as a significant barrier to EV adoption; EVs are subject to 25% customs excise import duties, compared to 18% for ICE vehicles, with total taxes averaging around 42% in practice.
• South Africa ranked fifth globally in the ratio of public EV chargers to electric vehicles in 2020, indicating that charging infrastructure is currently ahead of EV demand.
• The transition to EVs in the mining sector offers operational cost savings by reducing the need for underground ventilation and temperature regulation, as electric equipment produces no tailpipe emissions and less heat.
• The South African government's revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target range for 2030 is 350420 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-eq).
• A 2020/2021 perception survey of over 3,000 car buyers found that 68% would want to own an EV in the future, but 61% cited the unavailability of charging infrastructure as a primary barrier.

APA

Chege, W. W. (2022). ELECTRIC VEHICLES: MIR 2022. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EV_MIR_6_4_22_FINAL_DIGITAL-3.pdf

Chicago

Chege, Wilberforce W. ELECTRIC VEHICLES: MIR 2022. GreenCape, 2022. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EV_MIR_6_4_22_FINAL_DIGITAL-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chege |first1=Wilberforce W. |title=ELECTRIC VEHICLES: MIR 2022 |publisher=GreenCape |date=2022 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EV_MIR_6_4_22_FINAL_DIGITAL-3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chege2022electric, author = {Chege, Wilberforce W.}, title = {{ELECTRIC VEHICLES: MIR 2022}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2022}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EV_MIR_6_4_22_FINAL_DIGITAL-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }