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The Ideal African EV Will Solve Many Needs

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  • We would love to hear this response from Auto Manufacturers; “Challenge Accepted!”
  • Time for a uniquely African solution to EV’s and Loadshedding

We are all familiar with the naysayer point of view to Electric Vehicles (EV) in Africa: “With loadshedding you will not be able to fill up!” or “EV’s will lead to massive job losses!”

BUT, I beg to differ as those ‘sentiments’ play directly to an opportunity for the savvy motor manufacturer.

In a nutshell:

  1. Define a new market
  2. Fill an emerging basic need
  3. What the package looks like
  4. What about saving job losses?
  5. What kind of vehicle?
  6. What about losses from the parts basket?

Define a new market: The first thing traditional auto manufacturers will need to do is recognise that they are not exclusively IN automotive manufacture but part of a number of industries – tow of the most important being energy and manufacturing.

Fill an emerging basic need: Secondly auto manufacturers are in a very unique position to be able to sell not only a vehicle for transport but also a portable power plant for loadshedding. Vehicle to Grid (V2G) or even just Vehicle to Premises technology makes the value proposition for an automotive manufacturer huge. V2G opens up entry into te energy provision ecosystem. Instead of installing a loadshedding back up system in one’s home AND purchasing an EV – a V2G EV vehicle owner can merely plug his vehicle into his/her home when loadshedding strikes.

What the package looks like: Auto manufacturers could package a vehicle with Solar Panels, Wall Mounted Charger and (optional) inverter for the home/premises. This would open up more markets and loosely follow the entire Tesla Ecosystem of EV’s, Batteries, Solar Roof Tiles etc. Upsells could include home batteries, additional solar panels, additional renewable energy products like power banks etc.

What about saving job losses: More items in the basket will demand more skills transfer and more people able to fit and sign off on the solar panels, charger and/or inverter supplied with the vehicle purchase. This will offset job losses – only not in the immediate area of the automotive factory.

What kind of vehicle: Personally I would purchase a simple vehicle like a Suzuki Jimny (as an EV) – rugged, no frills, go-anywhere and already at a high price point to ‘kickstart’ the number of vehicles needed to make any production line profitable. The vehicle would have to be aspirational, rugged, good value for money AND make a huge case for the added benefits of being a portable power plant.

What about losses from the parts basket: Manufacturers have a built in ‘recurring’ revenue stream from the sale of after market parts. One example – EV motors have about 20 moving parts, compared to nearly 2 000 in an Internal Combustion Engined Vehicle. Auto Manufacturers could embark on a programme of monthly support monitoring the vehicle and solar installation and offer useful tips to maximise production and save money based on driving and living habits. Licensing of the technology. Paid advertising from Mapping Software. The massive amount of personal and operational data could be used to effect further savings and sales of new and improved product.

Every motor manufacturer has a production level that makes EV lines profitable – some quote a number approaching 300 000 units per annum. In a country like South Africa we do not have one manufacturer hitting even close to that number. For example a company like Volkswagen in Kariega produced 147 000 units last year and has a capacity to produce in the region of 172 000 units. So it could take a while for VWSA to produce a profitable line.

Consider too that South Africa’s auto manufacturers compete on a global scale – not only against other brands but also against their own brands. A company like VWSA has 121 maufacturing facilities dotted around the globe and each competes to manufacture and distribute vehicles for the Mother Ship in Wolfsburg – this is what keeps them highly profitable.

The solution then lies in one or more auto manufacturer/s to supply directly into Africa with an African focussed vehicle that solves a number of problems at once and, to my mind, a no frills V2G, 4×4 EV is the way to go.

“It has been our experience that people who purchase EV’s invariably also purchase Solar thereafter so selling a ‘portable renewable energy plant on wheels’ makes absolute sense,” says Straton Solar.

Africa’s abundant solar power and loadshedding could lead to a unique revolution in renewable energy.. Photo:  Sunset Image by Damian Patkowski (Unsplash.com) and Suzuki Jimny EV by SRK Designs.

Video: The Ideal African EV Will Solve Many Needs

https://youtu.be/CNTSSagaKZE

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.