IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v17y2024i23p6086-d1535794.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Study on Electric Vehicle Footprint in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Oluwafemi Emmanuel Oni

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa)

  • Omowunmi Mary Longe

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa)

Abstract

There has been a progressive global increase in the usage of electric vehicles in this dispensation. This is mostly due to the need to decarbonise the transport sector and mitigate the concerns of climate change and depleting oil reserves of which South Africa is not an exception. In fact, South Africa is the country with the highest CO 2 emissions in Africa and can reduce its carbon footprint by embracing green mobility. Compared to the internal combustion engine (ICE) market, the electric vehicle (EV) market in South Africa is still in its early stages, with limited local production and usage since its introduction to the country’s automotive sector in 2013. Therefore, in this study, the usage of EVs in South Africa, along with adoption rates and challenges were carried out to make a stronger case that would offer a better pathway for increased EV adoption in the country. It has been discovered that the slow adoption rate of EVs is due to factors such as EV procurement, ownership costs, vehicle parts, safety issues, battery technology, tax and import duties, load shedding, and availability of charging stations. This paper also provides insights into government policies, funding, and other efforts that can support EV adoption in the country through the analyses of primary and secondary data. The proposed strategies include the introduction of tax rebates on imported EVs, local production of EVs and their vehicle parts, retrofitting ICE vehicles to EVs, and science-informed strategies to transition from ICE to electric vehicles. Furthermore, more renewable energy grid integration and renewable energy-powered EV charging stations would also provide support for the energy required to power EVs even during load shedding. Preliminary findings from the survey also suggest that the local production of EV components and government-sponsored training programmes on various EV skills are crucial for increasing the adoption rate of EVs in the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Oluwafemi Emmanuel Oni & Omowunmi Mary Longe, 2024. "A Study on Electric Vehicle Footprint in South Africa," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-37, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:23:p:6086-:d:1535794
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/23/6086/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/23/6086/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Benjamin Jones & Viet Nguyen‐Tien & Robert J. R. Elliott, 2023. "The electric vehicle revolution: Critical material supply chains, trade and development," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 2-26, January.
    2. Ayetor, G.K. & Quansah, David A. & Adjei, Eunice A., 2020. "Towards zero vehicle emissions in Africa: A case study of Ghana," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    3. Pillay, N.S. & Brent, A.C. & Musango, J.K., 2019. "Affordability of battery electric vehicles based on disposable income and the impact on provincial residential electricity requirements in South Africa," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1077-1087.
    4. Xuan Meng & Jian Mei & Xingwang Tang & Jinhai Jiang & Chuanyu Sun & Kai Song, 2024. "The Degradation Prediction of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Performance Based on a Transformer Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-13, June.
    5. Jacobus Nel & Roula Inglesi-Lotz, 2022. "Electric Vehicles Market and Policy Conditions: Identifying South African Policy ``Potholes"," Working Papers 202257, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    6. Buhari Doğan & Oana M. Driha & Daniel Balsalobre Lorente & Umer Shahzad, 2021. "The mitigating effects of economic complexity and renewable energy on carbon emissions in developed countries," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 1-12, January.
    7. Hajjari, Masoumeh & Tabatabaei, Meisam & Aghbashlo, Mortaza & Ghanavati, Hossein, 2017. "A review on the prospects of sustainable biodiesel production: A global scenario with an emphasis on waste-oil biodiesel utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 445-464.
    8. Sujie Shao & Shaoyong Guo & Xuesong Qiu, 2017. "A Mobile Battery Swapping Service for Electric Vehicles Based on a Battery Swapping Van," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-21, October.
    9. Oluwagbenga Apata & Pitshou N. Bokoro & Gulshan Sharma, 2023. "The Risks and Challenges of Electric Vehicle Integration into Smart Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-25, July.
    10. Jürgen Janek & Wolfgang G. Zeier, 2023. "Challenges in speeding up solid-state battery development," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 8(3), pages 230-240, March.
    11. Vincent Umoh & Innocent Davidson & Abayomi Adebiyi & Unwana Ekpe, 2023. "Methods and Tools for PV and EV Hosting Capacity Determination in Low Voltage Distribution Networks—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-25, April.
    12. Arkadiusz Małek & Jacek Caban & Agnieszka Dudziak & Andrzej Marciniak & Piotr Ignaciuk, 2023. "A Method of Assessing the Selection of Carport Power for an Electric Vehicle Using the Metalog Probability Distribution Family," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-16, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ayetor, G.K. & Mbonigaba, Innocent & Sunnu, Albert K. & Nyantekyi-Kwakye, Baafour, 2021. "Impact of replacing ICE bus fleet with electric bus fleet in Africa: A lifetime assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    2. Li, Jiachen & Jiang, Meiru & Li, Ge, 2024. "Does the new energy vehicles subsidy policy decrease the carbon emissions of the urban transport industry? Evidence from Chinese cities in Yangtze River Delta," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    3. Ambat, Indu & Srivastava, Varsha & Sillanpää, Mika, 2018. "Recent advancement in biodiesel production methodologies using various feedstock: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 356-369.
    4. Francisco García-Lillo & Eduardo Sánchez-García & Bartolomé Marco-Lajara & Pedro Seva-Larrosa, 2023. "Renewable Energies and Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Overview," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-22, January.
    5. Asmat Ullah Khan & Lizhen Huang, 2023. "Toward Zero Emission Construction: A Comparative Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Diesel, Hybrid, and Electric Excavators," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-18, August.
    6. Jacobus Nel & Roula Inglesi-Lotz, 2022. "Electric Vehicles Market and Policy Conditions: Identifying South African Policy ``Potholes"," Working Papers 202257, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    7. Suiuay, Chokchai & Laloon, Kittipong & Katekaew, Somporn & Senawong, Kritsadang & Noisuwan, Phakamat & Sudajan, Somposh, 2020. "Effect of gasoline-like fuel obtained from hard-resin of Yang (Dipterocarpus alatus) on single cylinder gasoline engine performance and exhaust emissions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 634-645.
    8. Cao, Yan & Doustgani, Amir & Salehi, Abozar & Nemati, Mohammad & Ghasemi, Amir & Koohshekan, Omid, 2020. "The economic evaluation of establishing a plant for producing biodiesel from edible oil wastes in oil-rich countries: Case study Iran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    9. Aygun, Hakan & Turan, Onder, 2021. "Exergo-economic analysis of off-design a target drone engine for reconnaissance mission flight," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    10. Khounani, Zahra & Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha, Homa & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Sulaiman, Alawi & Goli, Sayed Amir Hossein & Tavassoli-Kafrani, Elham & Ghaffari, Akram & Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali & Kim, Ki-Hyun, 2020. "Unlocking the potential of walnut husk extract in the production of waste cooking oil-based biodiesel," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. Raeesi, Ramin & Zografos, Konstantinos G., 2020. "The electric vehicle routing problem with time windows and synchronised mobile battery swapping," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 101-129.
    12. Shu, Qing & Tang, Guoqiang & Lesmana, Herry & Zou, Laixi & Xiong, Daolin, 2018. "Preparation, characterization and application of a novel solid Brönsted acid catalyst SO42−/La3+/C for biodiesel production via esterification of oleic acid and methanol," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 253-261.
    13. Shaojia Huang & Yisen Zhu & Jingde Huang & Enguang Zhang & Tao Xu, 2024. "Analysis of Circular Price Prediction Strategy for Used Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-19, July.
    14. Jacek Caban & Arkadiusz Małek & Branislav Šarkan, 2024. "Strategic Model for Charging a Fleet of Electric Vehicles with Energy from Renewable Energy Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-17, March.
    15. S'andor Juh'asz & Johannes Wachs & Jermain Kaminski & C'esar A. Hidalgo, 2024. "The Software Complexity of Nations," Papers 2407.13880, arXiv.org.
    16. Cédric Decarpigny & Abdulhadi Aljawish & Cédric His & Bertrand Fertin & Muriel Bigan & Pascal Dhulster & Michel Millares & Rénato Froidevaux, 2022. "Bioprocesses for the Biodiesel Production from Waste Oils and Valorization of Glycerol," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-30, May.
    17. Guo, Qingran & Ahmed, Khalid & Ding, Cuicui & Khan, Bareerah, 2024. "How the pandemic-led volatility in the natural resource commodity indices affect U.S and China markets," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    18. Bogdan Saletnik & Marcin Fiedur & Radosław Kwarciany & Grzegorz Zaguła & Marcin Bajcar, 2024. "Pyrolysis as a Method for Processing of Waste from Production of Cultivated Tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L.)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-15, March.
    19. Raeesi, Ramin & Zografos, Konstantinos G., 2022. "Coordinated routing of electric commercial vehicles with intra-route recharging and en-route battery swapping," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 301(1), pages 82-109.
    20. Seffati, Kambiz & Esmaeili, Hossein & Honarvar, Bizhan & Esfandiari, Nadia, 2020. "AC/CuFe2O4@CaO as a novel nanocatalyst to produce biodiesel from chicken fat," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 25-34.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:23:p:6086-:d:1535794. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.