Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) hopes to launch it first fully electric vehicle (EV) in the local market in 2021, should it be able to convince its German head office to bring the vehicle to South Africa.

The ID.3 has a price tag of roughly $36 000 and a range of 420 km.

It will launch in Europe in 2020.

ID is the name for all models in the Volkswagen electric mobility family, and stands for identity and intelligent design.

VWSA sales and marketing director Mike Glendinning says the Volkswagen group will invest E30-billion in electric mobility by 2023.

The share of electric vehicles in the global Volkswagen group fleet is to rise to at least 40% by 2030. The group is planning to launch almost 70 new electric models in the next ten years.

“It is Volkswagen’s intention to provide electric mobility to millions, and not just millionaires,” says Glendinning.

The majority of European Union countries are moving away from the internal combustion engine (ICE) into EVs, he adds.

“South Africa too, will, eventually be forced to follow suit.”

However, the successful introduction of EVs in South Africa hinges on some key factors, he notes.

Most important is the need for government support in the form of incentives and the reduction of the 25% import tariff on EVs to ensure an improvement in vehicle affordability.

Accessible and affordable charging infrastructure is also a necessity.

South Africa still offers no support for the sale or production of EVs.

“We, as VWSA, are currently working on a comprehensive electric mobility strategy, and the purpose is to lay a strong foundation for the introduction of battery electric vehicles in our key brands,” says Glendinning.

“Initially this will be more of a strategic investment in our brands. We are cognisant that the initial volumes will be low and probably driven by early adopters, but as global volume and scale increase, so too will affordability, leading to higher volumes.”

In an effort to kickstart its e-mobility campaign, VWSA will bring six e-Golfs into South Africa  by the end of the year, mainly for testing and training purposes, and also to generate media and customer interest.

In 2020, VWSA hopes to “bring some ID.3s” to South Africa to proactively engage customers and to build up an order bank for a possible ID.3 launch in 2021.

THE MYTH OF BUSINESS AS USUAL
“It is a myth to believe that we in South Africa can just carry on while the rest of the world is going electric, and we will remain traditional,” says VWSA chairperson and MD Thomas Schäfer.

“We will face a time where traditional vehicles get more and more expensive and EVs get cheaper. This could change overnight,” he notes.

“In South Africa we cannot wait and see forever, which is why we have been engaging the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition on the issue. The focus has not been there, really, for many reasons.

“It is perceived as one of the points that is not top priority.

“However, we had good engagements with Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel in the last few weeks, where we showed what the world is doing and what we should be doing.

“So, my feeling, after these engagements, is that there is much bigger interest to go along with us and to decide on the electrification of South Africa in the automotive space.

“Will it happen overnight? No, it won’t, but we have to, we cannot stay behind. We are highly dependent – 70% of production – on exports. What if the rest of the world goes away from traditional engines, and we are still producing vehicles with traditional engines? Our exports are in danger.

“We need to get on this bandwagon.”

Schäfer says the South African government needs to decide whether it wants to use incentives to move consumers to EVs, or penalties. Countries like China make use of penalties, while countries like Norway incentivise the sale of EVs.

“Mauritius will go fully electric now,” he adds. “They are dropping the duties to zero for EVs. It is happening around us.

“South Africa needs a strong EV strategy for the next ten years – how do we phase in, phase out, get some government support, at the same time get the localisation right.”

Schäfer believes South Africa can produce the batteries used in EVs, as lithium and manganese are freely available in the country.