Electric Vehicle Deployment in China and the Associated Implications on the Electricity Grid and Carbon Footprint: Lessons for South Africa: Fourth Industrial Revolution

摘要

Currently, there is a global acceptance of transforming the transport industry by replacing conventional vehicles by Electric Vehicles (EVs) as a means of reducing greenhouse gas and mitigating carbon emissions problems associated with conventional vehicles. The year 2017 was a milestone for sustainable automobile production, with electric vehicles deployments going above 100 million units globally. Much of the deployment occurred in China. China has the highest number of electric vehicles per capita in the world. The deployment approach has been very aggressive causing serious strain in its electricity grid and the environment as a result of a large amount of electricity demanded by this fleet of Chinese electric vehicles, and also as deploying electric vehicles in China is highly associated with the carbon emissions from electricity generated from coal. The South Africa automobile industry is preparing for a similar deployment model, in which 50% of all vehicles will be electric by 2050. Noting that South Africa currently suffers from endemic electricity supply inconsistency and as over 90% of its electricity is generated from coal, it is important to have an informed policy on the cost and benefits of the deployment model from lessons learned from China.