Volkswagen AG and Isuzu Motors Ltd. have expressed scepticism about South Africa\u2019s plans to develop electric and hydrogen-powered vehicle industries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the government in February announced that automakers would be allowed to claim a 150% tax deduction on investment in facilities to make the vehicles, the local heads of both companies said they\u2019d stay focused on internal combustion engine vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The country\u2019s automotive industry, which accounted for more than R271 billion in exports last year, is currently dependent on shipments to the European Union, where legislation is expected to gradually reduce demand for vehicles that run on diesel and gasoline.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey won\u2019t call on us to make battery electric vehicles here\u201d as there is enough capacity in Europe and transport costs would be lower, Martina Biene, chairwoman and managing director of Volkswagen South Africa, said at a conference in Gqeberha, close to her company\u2019s 165,000 vehicle-per-year factory in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are not, in the long run, the exporter to Europe anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, she said the company is likely to focus on selling fuel-powered cars locally and to other markets in Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That position was echoed by Billy Tom, the chief executive officer of Isuzu\u2019s South African unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe mustn\u2019t rush and let go of what we have,\u201d he said, adding that he expects internal combustion engine vehicles to dominate African demand for the next 20 to 50 years. \u201cI don\u2019t see big growth in Africa\u201d for so-called new-energy vehicles, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biene is also president of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers, while Tom is president of South Africa\u2019s National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa has also done little to develop a domestic market for the vehicles, the executives said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The country has a poorly developed network of electric charging stations and imposes a 25% tax on electric vehicle imports, while some traditional cars don\u2019t attract any levy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year just 7,700 new energy vehicles were sold in South Africa, with 85% of those being hybrids, according to Tom. Total new vehicle sales in the year amounted to 532,000, and just under 400,000 were exported.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, Mike Whitfield, the managing director of Stellantis NV\u2019s South African unit, said the company\u2019s first South African factory, which is due to start up by the end of next year, may in the future produce new energy vehicles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Biene and Tom stressed the potential of the African market ,with between three and five million second-hand vehicles imported into the continent annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those, they said, could be replaced by new vehicles that would be cheaper and cleaner to run.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n