Electric Vehicles in South Africa Pt.1

During my discussions with South Africans about operating an electric vehicle (EV) there when I relocate, I have been obliged to reflect on their viability. Who amongst South Africans hasn't coopted the traditional aversion to EVs as if everyone there worked in the oil-and-gas industry or attributed income directly to Shell and Exxon? That product allegiance derives from the same marketing genius of De Beers convincing the soon-to-be-betrothed that diamonds in jewelry are an investment, or Keloggs advocating breakfast vis-a-vis its cereal as the most important meal of the day.

The popular argument behind the South African reluctance to adopt EVs or lobby for their replacement of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles is the unreliability of electricity supply, ubiquitious solar panels nothwithstanding, nor the logical extension established through the European and North American experiences of 80% of all charging occuring in households. If you have solar panels on your roof, a sizeable chunk of electrical charge happens free of monetary charge. Not a drop of a petrol tank refill is gratis.

A tired and exasperating string of other objections include:

• We like stress-free long roadtrips;
• We like the sound of engines;
• We have a strong tradition of admiring classic cars as collector items;
• We like changing gears;
• We have a strong culture of car repair hobbies and spare parts sales that would be decimated;
• EVs are too heavy and cause more damage to roads;
• EVs are too silent;
• The manufacture of EVs is equally bad for the environment;
• We have extreme range-anxiety especially that of running out of charge on rural roads;
• EVs combust sponstaneously, we were told to think without examining the record abroad;
• EVs are too expensive.

Some of this is valid, others ludicrous, especially the one about cost, and not for reasons of intrinsic value, nor maintenance and other operating cost. What none of the above addresses is the enormous tariffs on EVs, all of which are imported. None are assembled domestically. South African motor vehicle tariffs exist only to protect the local car industry, molly-coddling the personnel of the ICE car assembly behemoth and by extension, the owners of their brands.

It is extremely lazy reasoning that only the wealthy can afford EVs therefore only fair that they be dinged a tariff. In reality, everyone who drives an ICE vehicle could afford an EV were the tariffs to be removed. The knock-on effect would be a reduction in price of second-hand EVs making them affordable to the next income tier.

As to the revolutionary impact and societal benefit of converting photons of electrical energy into kinetic for the purpose of transportation, as if the oil and gas industry should have the final say in where consumers find energy for propulsion, try making an argument against electric sewing machines, electric drills and battery-powered flashlights to examine whether a return to looms, hand-cranks and paraffin torches is viable. An industrial revolution of alternatively-powered vehicles could signal the death-knell of their fossil-burning counterparts the way the Internet propelled snail-mail into obsolescence. And no question about it: AI is streets ahead of natural stupidity.

If sufficiently large investment flowed into EV assembly domestically that included training and infrastructure, and a massive injection of funds were directed to electricity supply such as nuclear and solar, new jobs would be created rather than technologically obsolete ones guarded like tattered recipe books.

Reflect on being able to recharge in the parking lot of wherever you overnighted on a roadtrip. How about during tea in the garage of the friend or relative whom you were visiting? Charging stations would be as ubiquitous as the solar panels on household and shopping mall roofs, and carport shelters. You would charge your car like you would your cellphone. Your hosts would share their charging stations the way they do their WiFi passwords. If every household had a garage with an adequate cable and breaker, every EV owner would travel with a portable, plug-in charger alongside the spare tyre, or in the front trunk (frunk). Every shopping mall parking spot would be equipped with an electrical outlet into which you would plug your EV whilst your shopped. Every business and every employer would be incentivised to include charging stations or charging ability in its advertising to lure customers and personnel. Instead of offereing to protect your vehicle from scratches and theft, every car guard would offer to plug your car into an outlet, and be there to remove and wrap it before getting paid.

All electricity is channelled from source to consumer through cables. All fossil fuels are lugged around in tankers. Almost every joule of electricity in an EV battery is converted into kinetic energy, the energy that moves you from A to B. Only between 12% and 30% of the energy stored in petroleum is converted into kinetic energy to move an ICE vehicle down the road. The vast majority—approximately 70% to 88%—of the energy for which you paid is lost, mostly in the form of heat, friction, and exhaust gases. This is pause for thought about efficiency.