DAVID FURLONGER: Government excuses over EV policy delay don’t wash
It’s easy to blame to Eskom and the electricity crisis, but the uncertainty leaves the motor industry in limbo
02 May 2023 - 06:00
Does the government want a lot of electric vehicles (EVs) on South Africa’s roads? Not yet, if a statement by trade, industry & competition minister Ebrahim Patel is anything to go by.
In parliament last week, he said Eskom’s faltering power grid could not cope with the mass adoption of EVs requiring regular charging. It was one of several reasons he gave for the unwillingness of the government — which has consistently said it supports the EV transition — to commit itself to a policy encouraging the local manufacture and sale of EVs. He says it could take nearly another year to do so. ..
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