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Auto Green paper on the advancement of new energy vehicles in South Africa

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The purpose of this New Energy Vehicle [NEV] paper is to establish a clear policy foundation that will enable the country to coordinate a long-term strategy that will position South Africa at the forefront of advanced vehicle and vehicle component manufacturing, complemented by a consumption leg, and increase our competitiveness in the global race to transition from the internal combustion engine era into electro-mobility solutions and technologies. In August 2019, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition set the large auto-makers in South Africa a challenge: to help develop a roadmap to the local production of electric vehicles. The various workstreams of the auto industry’s Master Plan were launched shortly thereafter, which included one focussed on technology changes and on deeper localisation. During 2020, the importance of this work was emphasised and more recently, a number of developments in key export markets has helped to step up the pace of work.

This Draft Green Paper seeks to develop a framework upon which a comprehensive and long-term automotive industry transformation plan on new energy vehicles can emerge, with specific focus on:

-creation of a high-yielding business environment, including an appropriate fiscal and regulatory framework, that makes South Africa a leading and a highly competitive location, not only within the African continent but globally, for electric vehicle production;

-support and investment in the expansion and development of new and existing manufacturing plants to support the production of new energy vehicles and components within South Africa and to grow the level of employment in the sector;

-development and investment in new energy vehicle component technology and expansion of the fledgling electric supply chain, by increasing support and investment in a set of unique NEV components;

-reinvestment and support towards reskilling and upskilling of the workforce to ensure the right skills are available for the design, engineering and manufacturing of electric vehicles and related components and systems;

-the transition of South Africa towards cleaner fuel technologies available globally [CleanFuels2];

-adoption of new and sustainable manufacturing processes to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve our environmental wealth; and

-ensuring that that Research and Development [R&D] investment is strategically targeted at activities that are likely to give South Africa a competitive advantage.

The Green Paper is released to invite substantive comments from all stakeholders including members of the public. This is the beginning of a crucial public discourse that will define electro-mobility in South Africa. The roadmap to implementing the new energy vehicle policy will entail the following steps:

-Gazetting the draft policy for public comments by the end of May 2021

-Submitting the policy proposals to Cabinet for consideration by October 2021

Download the below to read the full Paper