THE MINING YEARBOOK 2021
E DESPITE THE ROADBLOCKS, ELECTRIC VEHICLES WILL CHANGE A HIGHWAY NEAR YOU, FOR GOOD BY CHARLOTTE MATHEWS
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lectric vehicles (EVs) are revolutionising automotive markets. While the technology is still advancing, they already cost far less to run than a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE), and their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are significantly lower - even for South Africans using Eskom’s coal-fired electricity to charge them. Global car sales slumped during 2020, but sales of electric vehicles surged – except in South Africa. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global EV Outlook 2021 report, worldwide registrations of EVs grew 41% in 2020, when total car sales dropped 16%. Sales of EVs in Europe surpassed China for the first time. The main reasons for the popularity of EVs were supportive policies, driven by carbon emissions concerns (by end-2020, 20 countries had banned sales of conventional cars or mandated that all new vehicles sold had to be zero-emission), additional incentives, and a wider range of brand choice with falling battery prices. The IEA predicts there will be 145 million EVs (in all forms except two-wheelers) by 2030, equivalent to 7% of the total road fleet. In a scenario where governments step up incentives, the global EV fleet could be 230 million by 2030, which could cut GHG emissions from vehicles by two-thirds. Bucking the trend, South Africa’s sales of EVs fell to 92 units in 2020 from 154 in 2019, according to the SA Automotive Export Manual 2021. Between 2016 and 2020, total EV sales totalled only 472 units. The lack of demand, according to a 2020 TIPS report, ‘Harnessing EVs for Industrial Development in SA’,
