LOCAL EVENT
EVRT Africa: EV road trip in Mzanzi
Cruising along silently at a steady 90 km/h the ribbon of grey tarmac, shimmering in the late afternoon sun, stretched out before me ostensibly into infinity. It was hot in the car, the road seemed never-ending, and to make matters worse, our distance to destination was about 20 km short of target –with nearly 200 km still to go …
The kilometres slipped by agonisingly slow as we tried to save every available ounce of energy from the batteries of our full-electric BMW i3 but still our indicated range and the distance we still needed to cover just did not want to match …
It was disconcerting … Finding yourself in the middle of nowhere with over 150 km to go and the range indicated still 1020 km short of your goal. Range anxiety was kicking in. However, with range continuously calculated based on current energy consumption, it did not accurately compensate for changes in topography or road conditions.
This led to us overcompensating on average speed due to range anxiety, driving slower and slower; only to reach our destination with enough battery life left for another 50-60 km … Still, the most frustrating aspect of the journey was not the limited range between stops or the slow travelling speeds; it was the time wasted waiting for the vehicles to be recharged …
Inaugural event
The inaugural Electric Vehicle Road Trip (EVRT) Africa event recently kicked off in Pretoria and to prove it is possible to drive across the country without using a single drop of petrol, the participants followed a route over Kroonstad and Bloemfontein in the Free State to the Windy City in the Eastern Cape, and from there over Knysna and Worcester towards Cape Town.
The epic trip – organised by Generation.e in partnership with the Department of Transport, the Gauteng Provincial Government, and the African Alliance for Energy Productivity, and supported by ACDC Dynamics –took nearly nine days and covered over 2 400 km across South Africa.
This effort by the crews in seven full electric cars finally convinced the Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula to show his support to the initiative. The Minister was supposed to be the main speaker at the Smart Mobility Summit in Pretoria, held prior to the event, but for some reason did not pitch.
Yet, on the final evening of the tour the Minister suddenly joined the event in the Mother City to open a new charging station in Newlands. Here, for the first time, he piloted an electric vehicle and was so excited after the experience he
promised to “fix” Eskom to prepare for the “future” of mobility, including electric cars and electric transport.
The pioneering trip, conceived to increase public awareness and education of electric vehicles in order to inspire the shift towards smarter mobility and to showcase the advantages of smart mobility and electric cars in the country, ended at the Silo District at the
V&A Waterfront.
Three of the four full electric car models are now available in the country. The BMW i3, the Jaguar I-pace, and the second-generation Nissan Leaf partook in the trip. Unfortunately the Mercedes-benz EQC, first displayed at the Smart Mobility Summit, was not ready in time for the trip.
The vehicles
The electric models, with a range of between 270 km (Nissan Leaf and BMW i3) and 470 km (Jaguar i-pace), is the first in an onslaught of new full electric cars expected locally; including models such as the Audi e-tron, Volkswagen e-golf and/or ID.3, the BMW ix3 and the
Porsche Tauycan.
Yet, sales are lagging, with only around 1 100 electric passenger vehicles retailed locally thus far. The biggest reason for this, besides the shortage of infrastructure (more about this later) is the exorbitant prices of these models due to it attracting import tax and duties of 25%, compared to 18% on normal models with internal combustion engines (ICE).
Thus, a Nissan Leaf is priced at R550,000, while a Nissan Almera costs less than R300,000. The same applies to the BMW i3 (selling for over R700,000) with a basic specification Jaguar i-pace retailing for more than R1,4 million. Besides the prohibitively high purchase prices stifling the adoption of electric cars, other challenges are the vast distances to be covered, and the lack of charging infrastructure, as we experienced during the tour.
The new Leaf (not yet available here) features Nissan’s newly developed 40 kwh battery pack, giving it increased range and power, as well as standard PROPILOT advanced driving assistance technology and e-brake energy regeneration technology. According to Nissan the range of the new e+ has been increased to 260 km but, as we experienced, this is not easily achievable …
The new BMW i3 has a range of 270 km (without range extender) at an average power consumption rate of 1414.6 kwh/100 km and it really impressed with its performance and range on the trip. The brisk I-pace, with a total power output of 294 kw and 696 Nm, was the best long-distance cruiser but needed much more time to recharge.
Challenges and frustrations
Being designed for city traffic and suburban usage, it was clear you need to take it very easy on the long road. Current EVS are at their most efficient labouring along at a steady 90 km/h and this feels really slow on our highways with a
120 km/h speed limit, and extends travel time immensely …
Most frustrating, though, was the time it took to recharge the vehicles. This was not so much due to limitations of the charging stations but more a consequence of the unstable power supply from the national grid. This led to power outages and slow charging times, at some points delaying our journey with up to six hours.
With all these challenges facing EV road trippers, you for now need a different mind-set when planning such a journey. You must not be in a hurry, as you then will find the experience hugely frustrating. Rather take it easy and enjoy the beautiful countryside and spectacular vistas South Africa has to offer.
For more information on the inaugural EVRT Africa and a highlights-video, visit generationehq.com.