Considering the plug over the pump? Five tips worth noting

Despite the ongoing energy crisis causing havoc for many livelihoods in South Africa, manufactures have continued their rollout of electric vehicles with the most recent being the new BMW i7.

Slowly but surely

While scepticism about the viability of EVs linger, in spite of a report in 2021 by AutoTrader finding that South Africans are keen on owning EVs.

However, unable to afford even used examples, gradual progress continues to be made with relation to charging infrastructure and hopes of government support as per the delayed Green Paper submitted two years ago.

“Logically, South African OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) would require at least similar support, from their overseas sister plants, in order to compete equally for plant decisions,” National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) CEO, Mikel Mabasa, remarked at the end of last year.

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“It is clear that NEV (New Energy Vehicles) transition support is urgently required for positive plant decisions to be taken. OEMs require a lead time of at least three to four years to motivate to their parent companies before any potential production that could start and to align with existing production cycles.”

Five tips

With most recent EV support from Mercedes-Benz and MasterDrive in South Africa, Britain’s Autocar has identified a number of pointers current or future EV owners need to take into consideration going forward.

Amidst Europe’s own challenges with energy brought on as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago, Autocar’s steps for “living with an EV” include the following:

• Plan your route

Often the biggest source of worry, effective planning for where you are heading needs to include the presence of charging points should you travel long distance.

While possible to travel from Johannesburg to Durban or to Cape Town with an EV, planning still needs to be taken beforehand.

• Fully charged

Before setting off, make sure the battery is fully charged to extract the maximum range. Despite the challenges of load shedding, the greater majority of malls house a GridCars fast charger, which could alleviate the worries of home charging affected by the state controlled blackouts

• Curb your speed

The instant acceleration of electric vehicles has become famous and in some cases, hugely entertaining, but similar to constant use of one’s smartphone, restrained needs to be exercised in order to preserve range, especially long distance.

As the greater majority of electric vehicles do, however, come with regenerative braking, otherwise lost energy is fed back in order to bolster range. However, this shouldn’t be seen as a massive “get out of jail free card” all the time.

• Extra time

Depending on the level of your battery, set additional time aside for charging. Using a fast charger of more than 60kW often necessitates a waiting time of 90 minutes, while the smaller 11kW and 22kW outlets require more waiting.

• Effective energy use

As Autocar states, “Avoid the temptation to revel in both lead-footed acceleration and demon late-braking “.

Despite the mentioned sensation of rapid forward progress, “by honing your anticipation and concentrating on reading the road ahead you’ll be able to carry more speed everywhere”.

For more information on the GridCars charging network, click here.