Skip to main content

South Africa wants electric cars

In an effort to promote green technology in South Africa, the government will subsidise the production of electric cars, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said at the launch of the Electronic Vehicle Industry Road Map, which he hopes to submit to the cabinet for approval by September. According to a recent report, South African vehicle manufacturers would qualify for a 35 per cent production subsidy if they locally produced at least 5,000 electronic cars. There are currently three solar-powered chargin
May 7, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
In an effort to promote green technology in South Africa, the government will subsidise the production of electric cars, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said at the launch of the Electronic Vehicle Industry Road Map, which he hopes to submit to the cabinet for approval by September.

According to a recent report, South African vehicle manufacturers would qualify for a 35 per cent production subsidy if they locally produced at least 5,000 electronic cars.

There are currently three solar-powered charging stations in the country. The Electric Vehicle Industry Road Map envisions an additional 47 charging stations by 2015.

“What will make these vehicles sellable in South Africa will be entirely dependent on whether these cars are made in South Africa,” he said.  “These are the very early stages for the cars in manufacturing. There are zero of these cars being produced in the country. That is why we need to get the programmes going.”

Related Content

  • EVs stir interest but face obstacles – IBM study
    May 18, 2012
    Many automobile industry executives believe that sales of traditional vehicles will peak before 2020 and are looking to electric-only vehicles (EVs) as one of the next hot products, but they will first have to address stringent consumer requirements about EV performance, recharging, and convenience, according to a new IBM survey of consumer attitudes and a recent study of auto industry executives.
  • Report shows Oslo, London and Amsterdam lead ‘green’ cities ranking
    April 28, 2017
    London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has presented its ranking of 35 ‘green’ cities, sponsored by smartphone chip maker Qualcomm. The report ranks 35 global cities based on their level of progress towards achieving this goal, finding that:
  • ITS needs continuity at the policy-making level
    February 1, 2012
    ITS needs to be sold to politicians in plainer terms and we need to be encouraging greater continuity at the policy-making level says Josef Czako, chairman of the IRF's Policy Committee on ITS. At the ITS World Congress in New York in 2008, the International Road Federation (IRF) held the inaugural meeting of its Policy Committee on ITS. The Policy Committee's formation, says its chairman, Kapsch's Josef Czako, reflects an ongoing concern over the lack of deployment of ITS technology on roads in anything li
  • ITF diagnoses South Asia’s breathing difficulties
    August 26, 2022
    One of the world’s fastest-growing regions faces major transport sector decisions if it is to avoid spiralling emissions problems in coming decades. Alan Dron takes a look at a new report on Asia from the International Transport Forum