By John Fraser
You might be forgiven for thinking that the SA government is in reverse gear when it comes to encouraging the country’s auto industry to go electric.
An announcement on this was expected in last year’s mini-budget, but that borefest came and went.
In today’s budget, we do have news of a new incentive – worth 150 per cent of a qualifying investment in production facilities for electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles in the first year of investment.
The bad news – it will apply to new investments ONLY from the 1st of March 2026.
So there will be a two year wait before it happens.
The tax loss to the fiscus is estimated to amount to R500 million for 2026/27.
Existing auto incentives will still be on offer to manufacturers, but one wonders why they will bother to go electric in SA when so many other countries offer speedier – and more highly charged – reasons to invest.
And as for the local market – barely a spark of interest in the new technology vehicles.
It seems that electricity isn’t the only thing in SA to lack the necessary energy.
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