The high price of EVs has been overcome in other countries by governments offering cash incentives to consumers. In SA, there's nothing.
The Eleksa CityBug is SA's cheapest EV. Picture: SUPPLIED
Because their electric charge is constantly replenished by the ICE and by braking, the battery packs don’t require external recharging — unlike plug-in hybrid EVs , which use a combination of ICE and external power. The last of these has been overcome in other countries by governments offering cash incentives to consumers, for example through tax breaks or generous allowances in return for scrapping ICE vehicles.
That apart, prices limit most SA BEV customers to the upper-income echelons of society. BMW and Mini offer relative bargains below R800,000 before Porsche, Jaguar, Audi and Volvo take prices deep into seven figures. Sauer says that in discussions between the government and the industry, one suggestion is for a purchase price incentive for different levels of technology: R80,000 for a BEV, R40,000 for a PHEV and R20,000 for a basic hybrid.
At this stage, the incentive proposals are just that — proposals. There’s a lot more bargaining to be done. Sauer says there are several ways for the government to cut the price. One is to reduce the Europe-sourced import duty from 25% to 18%. Another is to rein back ad valorem duties attached to EVs. On a R1.8m e-tron, that duty is R260,000.
While the EV transition will be slower in SA than in many developed countries, it can’t delay too long. Nearly all the vehicles made here are ICE. More than 60% are exported, the overwhelming majority to countries planning to outlaw them, meaning they will potentially lose most of their customers from 2030, when the ICE ban kicks in. A hybrid ban will follow in 2035.