Electric vehicles, the key is in the name

Load shedding turned ‘Sweet 16’ in February – bittersweet, that is. Did we throw a party? Or do we still not want to acknowledge its existence?

Another existence that seemed to go unnoticed until Pretoria was linked to it is that of electric vehicles (EVs). We were content debating naturally aspirated and turbo-charged combustion engines for decades – until we were suddenly confronted with climate change goals. And someone named Elon Musk emerged with a solution that would forever alter our conversations – and, potentially, our investment choices.

Yet long before the Model X, there was a Prius. And several years before that, there was an EV1 created by General Motors. And although it is clear who the front-runner is in modern development of EVs today, it’s interesting to note we have come a long way from the EVs of Thomas Parker in 1884 to the 460 000 vehicles delivered by Tesla in the latest quarter ended June.

Something else that may be of interest is knowing that China boasts 15 of the Top 25 EV brands in the world.

Who knew there were 25 electric vehicle brands already!

If you need further evidence to validate EVs as an investment case though, then take a deeper look at the blue chip of the sector – Tesla.

For years, especially during the pandemic, Tesla was the definition of a value stock. Here was a company that was able to reach trillion-dollar status at the height of global uncertainty.

The share price had very little to do with the number of vehicles produced or sold, and largely to do with the perception that this was a stock of the future.

And like Formula E, it looks like no one wants to miss out, no one wants to be left behind. Not even South Africa.

Smart CEOs like Sibanye-Stillwater’s Neal Froneman have realised they don’t need to develop their own Tesla to be part of the EV sector. They just need to expand into the commodities that underpin this revolution. Still one of the bravest spending sprees I’ve seen in modern mining, kudos to the Sibanye management team.

Read: Sibanye buys Brazil mines in R14.7bn battery metals push

But even serial entrepreneurs are taking a stab at this. Yes, Agilitee may be a far cry from Tesla at this stage, but the effort remains noble and commendable. Let’s hope CEO Mandla Lamba can realise the long-term potential of what he started. Scooter is another example.

Now you have brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and BMW all producing EV vehicles right within our own borders.

Read:

This is one way to get a few runs on the board towards Just Energy Transition plans.

I say that fully aware that we do not have nearly enough charging stations and support infrastructure in this country to have fully electric vehicles at this stage.

But Steve Chang and the guys at BYD don’t seem to mind this – they are still entering South Africa.

We clearly have the labour and manufacturing conditions that have world-class brands looking to our shores for their facilities. But maybe, like Agilitee, we should be using this as a platform to launch something of our own.

From Red Bull box cart races to university engineering assignments,
there is no doubt that we have the ingenuity, creative design, and
innovation. Founders like Fezile Dhlamini, Scooter, are clear evidence of what limitless potential looks like.

From Red Bull box cart races to university engineering assignments, there is no doubt that we have the ingenuity, creative design, and innovation. Founders like Fezile Dhlamini of Green Scooter are clear evidence of what limitless potential looks like

And with investments from China, Germany and the Nordics seemingly growing in relation to clean energy in South Africa, all the pieces of the puzzle seem to be there.

Who will put the puzzle together though?

What a serendipitous opportunity to get ahead of the game while we are supposedly fixing a near two-decade-long problem.

For now, the idea can live rent-free in our heads.

Listen to Fifi Peters in conversation with Steve Chang, GM of BYD South Africa, about the Chinese manufacturer’s entry into SA:

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.