The need for electric vehicle infrastructure, now.

At the moment there's only a few hundred EV's (Electric Vehicles) on the road in South Africa. Public charging points are scarce but considering an EV right now is a fairly considerable investment, I'm sure purchasers of these vehicles considered their charging needs and options before parting with their cash.

As EV's drop in price and more people realise the savings they can make on their fuel and maintenance bill by buying an electric vehicle, sales of electric cars will rapidly pick up. When EV sales do start to gather pace, it will be important that the public charging infrastructure is sufficient to handle the charging needs of the EV owners.

If electric vehicle sales start to rocket before there are sufficient public charging points then we might see charging point congestion and queues in the near future, together with the inevitable frustration of those wanting to charge their vehicle. The electric vehicle infrastructure needs to stay one step ahead of electric vehicle sales so when somebody purchases an electric car they know they won't have any trouble finding a charging point and when they do they won't have to queue to use it.

Electric vehicle charging won't be like filling your ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) car with petrol or diesel, you won't go to a dedicated filling/charging station, unless perhaps on a freeway journey. Charging points will be everywhere, by the side of the road, in shopping centre car parks, outside restaurants, literally anywhere where people will park there cars.

You'll charge your car while shopping, or eating a meal, or sleeping in a hotel. It won't be something you'll have to go out of your way to do (like filling up with petrol), you'll do it while going about your regular daily tasks. The only time you'll need to seek out a dedicated charging destination will be on long intercity journeys. I imagine the large service stations dotted along our freeways will expand the services they offer, to occupy motorists and their passengers while they wait for their vehicle to charge.

Businesses who offer their customers charging will undoubtedly become the preferred destinations of EV drivers. It'll be a way of making a little extra revenue for the business via charging fees and maybe encouraging their customers to stay a little longer and spend a little more while their vehicle is charging. Maybe shopping centres could offer free charging to customers who spend over a certain amount, a bit like many offer free parking at the moment. Restaurants could offer free charging for those customers who also buy dessert, thus encouraging their patrons to spend a little bit more money in their establishment.

Though the rise in electric vehicle sales will come from the ground up, from the consumer, when the price is right. It is the responsibility of the government and the motor industry to work with third parties to get the charging infrastructure in place first.

BMW SA rolls out electric charging stations in Cape Town

BMW SA rolls out electric charging stations in Cape Town
Article written by Thandi Skade  for DestinyMan.com reports that BMW South Africa have unveiled a new charging station at the Constantia Village shopping centre in Cape Town.

Expanding on the three charging stations that are operational at the V&A Waterfront, the Constantia charging station is fast and secure, with a Type 2 connection enabled to charge a BMW i3, i8 as well as the Nissan Leaf. 

Despite the absence of any momentum from the government regarding electric vehicles in this country, it's good to see BMW and Nissan making an effort to provide charging infrastructure for their customers. The more charging points there are the more potential EV purchasers will be tempted into buying an electric car.

BMW SA CEO Tim Abbott said the stations had been built with the future in mind and with the ability to cater for prospective electric vehicles......Abbott said BMW and Nissan SA MD Mike Whitfield had lobbied government to approve tax incentives for electric car manufacturers. While government officials, including Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, have indicated their support for electric cars in principle, the support has not translated into action. Car manufacturers who import electric cars into the country pay a 25% tax levy compared to gas-guzzling cars, which are taxed 18%.

I wrote about the lack of any government incentives for electric vehicles in South Africa, yesterday. Once again Nissan and BMW are commendably leading the way and putting the case for electric cars. With the fact that electric vehicles are at the present time still more expensive than a petrol or diesel equivalent, it doesn't help that they're taxed more than internal combustion engine vehicles. This maybe explains why other manufacturers are hesitant to bring their electrically powered offerings into the country. Seeing as EV sales at the moment are quite slow in SA, there wouldn't be much lost in tax revenue if the tax levy on EV's was dropped totally, at least for a while. Indeed, it appears Tim Abbott shares the same sentiments.

Abbott has suggested that the government consider kick-starting public interest in electric cars by scrapping tax for the first year to make the electric vehicle market more competitive. 

I'm not sure what he means by the first year. I don't think that's a long enough period to get things really going. Maybe the tax could be dropped totally for three years and then slowly increased at 3% a year for the next six years until it's back up to the same level as gas powered vehicles. Another incentive could be to have a moratorium on toll fees for electric vehicles for five years. I'll think up some more possible incentives for a future article.

South African Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Google map showing EV charging stations in South Africa.