The uptake of electric vehicles in South Africa – especially in the truck sector – would remain slow for the foreseeable future, said Kevin Baart, head of strategic projects at the South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia). “There are around 12 million vehicles of which about 4 million are trucks on South African roads at present. Of these vehicles 99% have internal combustion engines (ICE),” he said at a recent conference organised by the Road Freight Association (RFA). “Last year I think only 33 electric vehicles were sold, which is not a lot.” He said, the uptake had not been high and it was expected to remain slow. There were a variety of reasons at play, said Baart, including the cost of these vehicles, which was significantly higher than an ICE vehicle. The lack of infrastructure in the country to operate electric vehicles and the non-conducive road network were further challenges.
