Time is running out for South Africa to transition away from producing combustion engine vehicles as European markets will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2035.

Meanwhile, there have been delays in policy direction from the government, and its Auto Green Paper from May 2021 has yet to be finalised. This has resulted in growing frustration from the local automotive industry, which has been left in limbo while the rest of the world moves ahead. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers South Africa (Naamsa) and the Automotive Business Council released their discussion document this year, which lays out their vision for the country’s new energy vehicle (NEV) roadmap. This document sketches the global and local NEV landscape and looks at the transitional requirements for investment, as well as establishing smart grids and charging infrastructure. Naamsa held a roundtable discussion with stakeholders in April, at which Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel was set to deliver a speech laying out the government’s policy position on new energy vehicles. As it happened, Patel did not appear, due to a Cabinet meeting.