electric vehicles - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Maserati launches electric drop-top GT

In 2023, Italian supercar manufacturer Maserati made a triumphant return to single-seater racing by partnering with MSG Racing in the Formula E (FE) championship. This marked not only a bid to reclaim its motorsport legacy but also a significant step in its venture into the realm of retail electric vehicles (EVs)." Maserati introduced us to its GranTurismo Folgore, its first electric vehicle. With a powerful three-motor electric drivetrain, it packs 818 horsepower and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.7 seconds. Its travel range goes up to 450 kilometres. Now they have launched another model, the GranCabrio Folgore,…

Mar

2024

By NQOBILE DLUDLA

Nissan to test African demand for its e-Power hybrid vehicle

BUSINESS

JAPANESE carmaker Nissan Motor plans to introduce its e-power hybrid technology car in Tunisia, its Africa head said, as part of plans to test demand in the African market for electric vehicles. Africa is the world's last remaining automotive frontier due to the low level of vehicle ownership. According to Nissan, elsewhere in the world, the global motorization average is 182 vehicles per 1,000 people versus 42 per 1,000 in Africa. But, like in many countries globally, electric vehicles (EVs) are currently priced out of the reach of most domestic consumers, while some countries in Africa, including South Africa, struggle…

Oct

2023

By PROMIT MUKHERJEE

Mercedes-Benz local boss urges South Africa to speed up EV shift

BUSINESS

SOUTH Africa needs to regulate swiftly to spur demand for electric vehicles (EVs), the co-CEO of the local unit of Mercedes-Benz said, as the country's automotive industry risks being irrelevant to the global market. For South Africa as a whole, three-quarters of its vehicle production is exported. The luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz exports 90% of its total South African output, primarily to Europe, which plans to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035. At the same time, South Africa's policy paper on EVs is two years behind schedule. The government has said it will be published this year. "The…

Sep

2023

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Price wars drive adoption of cleaner cabs, carpooling in Africa

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

CONSUMERS love cheaper rides and there's always a driver willing to take less per ride. To cushion themselves from losses, many taxi and rideshare drivers are turning to smaller, fuel-efficient cars, hybrids, LPG-powered, and fully electric vehicles. This trend, driven by both economics and a growing environmental consciousness, has begun to reshape the taxi industry across Africa. It also comes as the continent sees a shift in attitudes to polluting staples like plastic and fossil fuels, according to a report released by a unit at bird story agency, The African Climate Awareness Report 2023. As cities across Africa expand, shared…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Audi South Africa reveals 43 additional EV charging stations

MOTORING NEWS

AUDI South Africa, in partnership with Rubicon, has brought 43 additional electric vehicle (EV) charging stations online across the country. These chargers can accommodate a total of 57 EV cars simultaneously, at varying capacities, regardless of model or brand ownership. This is in addition to the brand’s contribution of 70 EV charging connection points nationwide a year ago, when Audi was the first to bring ultra-fast chargers to South Africa.The latest rollout includes the very first DC 200kW ultra-fast charger in South Africa, which is installed at the largest shopping mall ever built in a single phase – Mall of Africa…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Africa gears up to keep more of the profits from lithium boom

NEWS

CLARA DENINA and WENDELL ROELF LITHIUM-rich African countries, including Zimbabwe and Namibia, are trying to develop processing and refining industries to capture more of the profits of global demand for the battery material. Lithium prices and demand have soared as the auto industry shifts towards electric vehicles (EVs) - spurred by proposed bans on fossil-fuel cars beginning at the end of the decade. China, the world's top lithium refiner and a leading producer dominate the supply chain, but Western governments and international companies are trying to challenge that and see Africa's lithium reserves as an opportunity. For their part, African…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Ford executive says South Africa needs EV policy within six months

MOTORING NEWS

PROMIT MUKHERJEE THE Africa head of Ford Motor Co said the South African government must deliver policy certainty on electric vehicles (EVs) within six months to save its automotive industry. Three-quarters of cars produced by South Africa's auto industry, which accounts for 5% of the gross domestic product and more than 100,000 jobs, are exported, mostly to Europe. But with Britain planning to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and the European Union in 2035, the local industry risks losing thousands of jobs and billions in revenue in the absence of a government plan for EVs. "We…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Electric vehicles in South Africa: how to avoid making them the privilege of the few

MOTORING

IN the early 1900s, automobiles took the streets of industrialised cities by storm, rapidly displacing horse-drawn vehicles. Fiercely contested at first, the internal combustion engine won the technological battle against electric vehicles which accounted for up to a third of vehicles on the road before declining. After more than a century of domination, the internal combustion engine age is soon to be over. The tide is turning to electric vehicles. Pushed by environmental regulations, support programmes and improving economics, electric vehicles are set to become dominant in the coming decades. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been reminding…

Jun

2022

By The African Mirror

Audi conducts electric vehicle train for SA first responders

MOTORING

AUDI South Africa has concluded the facilitation of a training programme with 70 South African First Responders hosted at their Dealer Training Academy in Pretoria.The safety and education initiative is the first for the local automotive industry and is part of Audi’s e-tron launch an electric vehicle rollout in the country.“As part of our planning towards the introduction of our fully electric Audi e-tron model range, we consulted with the Department of Cooperative Governance and the National Disaster Management Centre in South Africa and identified a need to progress the education and information of electric vehicles (EV) to First Responders."These…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

The engine room: SA government support fuels further investment in vehicle manufacturing

NEWS

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY IN March, there were 50, 607 new cars sold in South Africa, representing the biggest sales in that market since October 2019, indicating the level to which the sector has bounced back since being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Top Auto figures also show that 7,184 more units were sold in March than in the same forecast period in 2021, reflecting a 16.5 per cent increase year-on-year. Strong auto sales come as the South African government continues to provide support for an incentive scheme aimed at boosting exports of vehicles and components, with a new…