The electric mobility (e-mobility) industry cannot be advanced without the help of local small and medium-sized enterprises and their participation in the sector, uYilo e-Mobility Programme director Hiten Parmar said on November 6.
Speaking during the virtual Battery Technologies Webinar, on November 6, he explained that the uYilo e-Mobility Programme was established in 2013 to serve as a national multistakeholder, collaborative programme focused on enabling, facilitating and mobilising growth in electric mobility within the transport industry, as well as the complementary green economy sector in South Africa.
Cognisant of the global technology advancements across transport, energy and information and communications technology that e-mobility impacts on, uYilo has created and maintained a footprint in the local industry, while also leveraging international networks, aimed at advancing the uptake of e-mobility.
This is done through various means, including that of government lobbying, industry engagement, enterprise development, pilot projects, thought leadership and skills development, Parmar elaborated.
The uYilo programme has an “agile mechanism” to fund applied research and development that will lead to the creation of products and services, which Parmar noted was of particular importance as it would increase localisation opportunities and advance South Africa’s development of e-mobility ecosystem technologies.
Additionally, with electric vehicles anticipated to have a market share of about 58% by 2040, he added that the uYilo programme invests in the development of local technologies across the value chain to ensure South Africa’s foothold in the market.