Energy Dialogue: New Energy Vehicles

The energy transition is not only happening in the energy sector, but all other sectors of the economy as well, with NEVs being one of the priority sectors in the Just Transition. The transport sector contributes to 11% of national emissions and about 91.2% of these emissions are a result of road transport.

Thus, the NBI, 2022 report on Decarbonising the South African Transport Sector notes that we need to have about 750 000 to 1 000 000 NEVs on the road by 2030 and an absolute ban on new ICE sales from 2035 to support the country’s decarbonisation ambitions and NDC commitments. However, the South African NEV sector remains in nascent stages with relatively low penetration of NEVs.

This dialogue set out to answer the following questions:

1. What kind of government support is required to support the transition to NEVs?

2. How can industry support the transition to NEVs?

3. What is the role of public transport in the transition to NEVs?

4. What is the role of spatial and infrastructure planning in bolstering the change required in this sector?