In fact, South Africa ranked fifth globally in the ratio of public electric vehicle (EV) chargers to electric vehicles in 2020. Only Korea, Chile, Mexico, Indonesia, and the Netherlands have more chargers per EV than SA, according to the IEA Global EV Outlook 2021 report released recently.
So what’s holding back the transition in South Africa? Well, the limited range of EVs available and the high sticker prices thanks to hefty import duties and taxes for EVs. While petrol and diesel vehicles from the EU have a customs duty of 18% in South Africa, for electric vehicles the duty is 25% in South Africa! Then there is the Ad Valorem Customs Excise Duties and VAT.
See South Africa Has One Of The Highest Ratios Of Public EV Chargers To EVs In The World
A lot of people generally look at it as a chicken and egg scenario — which one comes first? Electric cars or the charging stations? Players who want to roll out charging infrastructure would want to see a critical mass of EVs before investing heavily in charging infrastructure, while on the other hand, range-anxious consumers […]