The Eastern Cape has spent more than R11 billion in two years, installing universal electric vehicle charging stations across the province.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, confirmed this in a response to questions by Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana in the National Assembly.
Gana questioned the minister and his department regarding the progress made in implementing the 2023 White Paper on electric vehicles.
The document serves as a roadmap for the adoption of electric vehicles in South Africa and aims to prepare the country and its infrastructure for a future that can handle these vehicles.
Gana also questioned whether any delays had affected the adoption of the document, and requested clarity on the amount spent by the department since it was announced.
When the Electric Vehicle White Paper was published, it focused on two areas for the state and private sector to implement.
The first was on creating a supportive environment for local production, and the second was on supporting the uptake of electric vehicles.
Minister Tau confirmed that his department has, to date, amended several regulations and guidelines that allow for the implementation of the EV White Paper.
He said the department is developing strategies to create an improved environment for the production of EV batteries from local minerals and also improve international battery value chains.
According to the minister, training courses for the handling of EVs have been developed in partnership with the industry and education sector.
Regarding potential delays, Minister Tau confirmed that no actions in the implementation have been delayed, although some actions may take longer to implement.
He said the state is currently not in a position to provide subsidies to persons buying electric vehicles due to fiscal constraints, although this is a policy offered in other countries.
“There will be continuous monitoring and evaluation of environmental trends and conditions, and appropriate steps or actions taken,” the minister confirmed.
Money well spent
Speaking on the budget required to implement the EV White Paper, Minister Tau highlighted that there is no ringfenced budget.
“Existing programmes will be used where applicable, whilst other interventions do not require direct funding or are not exclusively linked to the White Paper,” he declared.
In 2024, the Minister of Finance announced the reprioritisation of R964 million over the medium term to support the transition to electric vehicles.
Money has already been spent on electric vehicle infrastructure upgrades in the Eastern Cape.
“A number of charging stations are being installed by a variety of private and public sector stakeholders,” the minister confirmed.
Partnerships involving several Eastern Cape Government departments and the Automotive Industry Development Centre have successfully rolled out thirteen universal public-owned charging stations.
The cost of which, confirmed by the minister, amounted to around R11.4 billion in two years.
In terms of private investment, Tau mentioned that GridCars has partnered with a number of vehicle distributors to install several new stations across South Africa.
Plans for future implementation and adoption of electric vehicles include multi-stakeholder engagements and collaborations.
The Automotive Workstream, under the Project Management Office (PMO) of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), will work with the department and other stakeholders to support localisation of local NEV production.
This includes both assembly of vehicles and component manufacturing in the value chain.
The PMO will reportedly focus on identifying barriers and challenges to solve and increase the pace of EV transition while maximising economic development and supporting job creation.
The minister confirmed his department is planning to lobby the state to use its procurement to support local production of electric vehicles and the automotive industry at large.
Additionally, the department is engaging with producers of electric vehicles and their components to invest locally.
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