'Plug-in hybrids the perfect solution for SA where full EV uptake is slow' - Volvo MD

702's John Perlman chats to Grant Locke, MD of Volvo Cars SA.

The uptake of electric vehicles in South Africa has been slow compared to some other countries.

Factors putting people off going green on our roads include range anxiety, the future of loadshedding, and of course price considerations.

Swedish car brand Volvo describes its range of EVs and plug-in hybrids as 'a vision of the future'.

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And while there is still some reticence among local buyers, the market has grown 14% year on year, notes the MD of Volvo Cars SA, Grant Locke.

'This indicates that we are actually seeing a  move towards the adoption of EVs in South Africa', he says.

For those who're still not clear on the exact difference between an EV and a plug-in hybrid, Locke describes the hybrid as bringing consumers the best of both worlds, especially if you have a wallbox at home.

"The main reason we've got plug-in hybrids is to bridge that gap between the fully electric vehicle and  the internal combustion engine (ICE).The idea with an electric motor with a battery pack is that for most of your daily commute, if less than 60 km, you can do it on battery power and then for longer journeys, or if you're not able to charge, you can automatically switch over to the ICE motor with no range anxiety."

Grant Locke, MD - Volvo Cars SA

"I think the real thing that makes this work however, is when you have a wallbox at home - getting home at night you plug your car in to recharge your electric battery overnight, and then you can go for a really long period without having to dip into your combustion motor."

Grant Locke, MD - Volvo Cars SA

In the South African context this takes range anxiety away from consumers, he emphasizes.

"We don't know how long it will take for customers here to move to full EVs. In countries like Norway, for example, EV adoption is over 98% but South Africa might take much longer so we need to make sure that we've got a solution for local customers and that's the plug-in hybrid."

Grant Locke, MD - Volvo Cars SA

"We do have a full range of EVs coming and we do have some for sale at the moment."

Grant Locke, MD - Volvo Cars SA

For more detail, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article