The South African Car Industry Should Be At The Forefront Of THE ENERGY CRISIS

By Zimkhita Kweza

Frustration, disappointment, incompetency, and lack of accountable and efficient leadership, are some of the thoughts that come to my mind whenever the issue of load-shedding in South Africa is brought up. But beyond intense emotions is the reality of how crippling and devastating the energy crisis has been to the country’s economy. Looking to the government and having a singular approach to this problem would be a huge blunder. I say involve different stakeholders and industries in the formulation of a solution and one of those being the South African automotive industry.

According to Naamsa (National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa), the automotive industry is one of the country’s largest economic sectors, contributing 4.3% to the GDP. The January 2023 new passenger car market alone is reporting an increase of 2.9% gains as compared to the cars sold in January 2022 thus, with the increasing economic volatility and the high unemployment rates, South Africa cannot afford to lose this industry.

“Load-shedding is the biggest inhibitor to drive the industry’s localisation ambitions, create sustainable jobs within the auto sector and to further attract investment opportunities into the country to grow the South African economy”, says Mikel Mabasa, Naamsa CEO.

Automotive Industry Snapshot And The Emissions Debacle

South Africa is amongst the top 20 largest vehicle markets in the world with 0.4 million passenger car sales per year. According to Statista, in 2021 the transport, communication and storage sector generated an added value of 333.8 billion rands ($19.3 Billion) to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, the transportation sector after the energy sector is the second highest contributor to the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Transport emitted 61976 ktCO2 in 2013 and accounts for about 13% of total emissions, which can be attributed to the fact that South Africa heavily relies and depends on fossil fuels. The energy sector, due to its reliance on coal is responsible for around 66% of all emissions.

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) reported the average CO2 emissions of new pas- senger cars in South Africa, tested under the NEDC test cycle, to be 148 gCO2/km in 2015. If we are looking at carbon emissions through the comparison of fuel types and their carbon imprint, research shows that diesel passenger vehicles emit about 14.4% more CO2 per km than the average gasoline vehicle. This is because of the much wider use of diesel engines in SUVs, which are on average the heaviest and highest-rated power vehicles in the fleet.

Comparing the South African vehicle market to the international one, the ICCT has found that the European models emit less CO2 than the South African models. By contrast, South African models are lighter on average than European ones, except for Toyota, which is significantly heavier. The best performer in SA, Renault, is 12% lighter but emits 15% more CO2 than their European average models. South African market leader VW presents similar behaviour, being 13% lighter but emitting 14% more CO2 on average than the European models

PIONEERING ALTERNATIVE ENERGIES FROM SOUTH AFRICA’S AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

The automotive industry in South Africa has the potential to be a pioneer of alternative energies and sustainability for the whole world. This can be possible by investing in a decarbonised society, reducing the carbon footprint and emissions through infrastructure, design, development and manufacturing. The industry should work towards abandoning the use of fossil fuels in every component of it. South Africans are ready to embrace new energy vehicles so much so that Naamsa reported a 245.1% increase in the demand for new energy (electric, plug-in hybrid and traditional hybrid) vehicles in the first nine months of 2022.

With the reputation of producing the least efficient cars and being the second largest manufacturer in the country, corporations like the Toyota Group are working in collaboration with various partners, using the technologies and knowhow it has cultivated through its business activities, continue to advance ventures that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The company is adamant about investing in hybrid technology and furthering research on alternative options like hydrogen energy. Furthermore, Toyota SA says its 2022 product rollout strategy stipulates that by 2025 there should be at least 20% of new energy vehicle unit sales.

It would be incorrect and quite egotistical of me to claim to be bringing a new solution to the energy crisis and pretend like the South African government hasn’t already taken steps to incentivize consumers to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles. The government has implemented vehicle fuel economy label programs and vehicle taxation policies that are based on vehicle CO2 emissions. However, policies, tax and incentives are simply not enough, and in my opinion, the next logical step would be to adopt policies that incentivize manufacturers to offer to the SA market the most fuel-efficient vehicles and enforce a new energy 360 strategy approach to the entire process of vehicle manufacturing. There needs to be investment from both the private and public sectors generated to support new energy research and erect world-class facilities to curb the energy crisis and expand the green automotive agenda.

Where others see a crisis plaguing our great nation, I see a way to carve a whole new path through the resources and great economic contributors we already possess. I see the potential for a brand-new way of manufacturing and designing automobiles that will challenge the whole world, reimagining transportation, and energy use, catapulting us into a new era of technological advancement.