South Africans are buying anything but electric vehicles
SA must keep up with international developments in automotive technology or face devastating economic consequences, say experts
Like it or not — and it’s currently a resounding "not" — SA has to change its attitude towards vehicle technology and personal mobility, or risk irrelevance in a changing transport environment.While much of the world moves inexorably towards zero-emission electric cars, SA prefers the polluting petrol and diesel kind. And while many markets are experimenting with personalised transport technologies that allow cars to talk to each other and to surrounding traffic systems, SA appears unready to follow.There are hints of forward thinking. A report by online marketer AutoTrader shows that 68% of survey respondents were interested in buying an electric car in the near future.If they could get a new one for less than R500,000, they would jump at the chance. But the cheapest on the market is about R640,000, and most are much more.Prices would fall if the government were to offer the tax breaks and cash incentives available in other countries. For all its talk of reducing automotive polluti...
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