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For us to enter into the EV market whilst the window for market share is still open, we
would need to identify a niche section of the industry in which to compete. It is likely
that we would be competing with other developing countries to produce a lower cost
EV that could be afforded by lower-middle income families. GridCars had the vision of
developing a 2-seater publicly shared commuter vehicle. Capturing the African market
and building vehicles to suit the specific needs of African countries could be a powerful
and unique position to hold.

The opportunities for local development are also not limited to local production.
Incentivising international companies to set up shop in the Western Cape brings with it
head offices, consultancy jobs and skills. These all contribute to fostering the industry’s
success in the country as well as job creation and revenue generation. It is from these
sorts of partnerships that the conventional automobile market has been so successful
in South Africa.
The world as we know it is in a fundamental period of transition. In the face of climate
change and rapid resource depletion, many industries have been forced to rethink
their approach to be sustainable in the future. Transport is one of the most vital sectors
for change because of its vast contributions to GHG emissions and its vital economic
development benefits. Elon Musk of Tesla Motors identified the Electric Vehicle
technology to be the most promising as a solution for sustainable transport and with an
enabling policy environment, was able to create a large market for EVs when others
thought it was not viable. It seems that these opportunities are within reach in the
Western Cape, and perhaps greater policy attention needs to be paid to create an
enabling environment for South African investors before the window of opportunity
closes. PROVINCIAL OUTLOOK NATIONAL OUTLOOK GLOBAL OUTLOOK GAP HOUSING INVESTOR NARRATIVE SPOT THE OPPORTUNITY PORTFOLIO INSIGHTS KHULISA NEWSLETTER ELECTRIC VEHICLES ENERGY SECURITY LOOKING AT GDP

QUARTERLY ECONOMIC BULLETIN 2016 39